Wiseman’s 3rd Quarter Bounce-Back Against Miami Could Be A Positive sign
The Warrior’s dropped a third straight game in a row on Thursday night against Miami. In that game James Wiseman only saw nine minutes and scored five points on four shots. The reason being was that he picked up three early fouls in the first quarter. Yet somehow, Steve Kerr had nothing but praise after the game for the young center.
Wiseman is averaging 8.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 14 minutes per game this season. It is still early but many are quick to point out that the second overall pick isn’t playing up to his potential standards. He is in a similar spot that Klay Thompson was in last year where he’s trying to find his place in the rotation while getting his legs under him.
There have even been rumors that the Warriors should pick up Dwight Howard in order to help mentor Wiseman. Yet Kevon Looney and Draymond both have helped him learn in his role, even though they also share the majority of his playing time. Another key point for the Warriors was the fact that Kuminga’s minutes have also seen a dip as of recently. He drew a DNP against Miami after recording 19 minutes the game prior, possibly in relation to Wiseman’s current spot in the rotation.
Both young rookies have seen inconsistent playing time as Steve Kerr tries to figure out what the lineups will be after a few key departures and new incoming players. With Donte DiVincenzo dealing with a nagging injury the past few games, both Moody and Ty Jerome have seen more playing time and played well in his stead.
Once the rotation balances out and Wiseman receives more minutes with the starting groups, his play should improve. He’ll learn where to be offensively and how to clog up the paint on defense; he just needs a few more games under his belt to do so.
It would be a very Warriors-esque thing to do, let your game do the talking and prove the doubters wrong just as many of his teammates have in the past. In Wiseman’s case fans have seen a very small sample size as he’s only played 47 games in his career. So all signs point to him having a better year especially with the championship core around him. The Warriors’ next game is Thursday night against Orlando, where Wiseman will have a chance to showcase his skills against a subpar offense.
(Photo credit: Adam Pantozzi / Getty Images)