Warriors’ Head coach Steve Kerr talks about James Wiseman and a potential model for his development before the game against Utah Jazz
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The Golden State Warriors took down the NBA’s top team, the Utah Jazz 119-116 tonight. Stephen Curry once again led the way, scoring a team-high 36 points. He was complimented well by other members of his team. Draymond Green showed up and recorded a 12 point, 10 assist double-double. Kent Bazemore, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole also contributed by scoring in double digits.
For the Jazz, Jordan Clarkson led the way with his game-high 41 points and 7 rebounds. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 27 points, whereas Rudy Gobert recorded a 10 point, 16 rebound double-double. What’s impressive was that the Warriors learned from their past games against the Jazz and controlled the boards better today. The Dubs also managed to limit the top 3 point shooting team in the league to just 29.5% from the deep.
Rudy Gobert to serve as a model for James Wiseman
The Warriors lost their prized rookie James Wiseman to a knee injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. He was having an up-and-down season for his first professional campaign. There were moments where Wiseman gave hope to all the Warriors’ fans about the future.
Before the Jazz game started, head coach Steve Kerr was talking to the press. There Kerr updated everyone on Wiseman’s fitness and his injury progress. Kerr also said, “I have no doubt that James is going to make a huge impact in this league. He’s going to be a hell of a player. But it takes time and you can’t rush that process, unfortunately. It just has to happen on its own time.”
As the Warriors’ were preparing to face the Jazz, Kerr and co. were also observing a player they’d look to model Wiseman around: Rudy Gobert. Rudy Gobert was drafted in 2013 but did not become a starter till 2016, and a prominent face in the league till even later.
“It takes big guys longer to adapt to the speed and the rules and the league, and the nuances,” Kerr said. “I think in James’s case because he [hardly] played in college, didn’t have a summer league, and didn’t have a training camp, he’s further behind than most big guys when they came into the league, including Gobert, who had played internationally some.”
The Warriors would hope that Wiseman develops into all that’s hoped of him. With the current veterans there to guide him, Wiseman can learn a lot and grow while Curry is around.