LAS VEGAS — In team-building activities and at practice, with uplifting speeches and a “just us” huddle breakdown, Anthony Vereen has been trying to instill positivity and togetherness.
“We always talk about connection as one of our core principles,” Vereen said after a Summer League practice this week.
Whatever it is, he must be doing something right.
Last year, the Warriors went winless in the Summer League; under Vereen this time around, Golden State has won all four of its contests after Saturday’s 90-73 victory over Phoenix.
Daeqwon Plowden (19 points on 8-for-12 shooting) made a major impact, both inside and out, as he and Brandin Podziemski led the Warriors to their third blowout win in four Summer League games. Podziemski, the Summer League Warrior with the highest expectations, finished with 16 points six assists and seven rebounds while looking comfortable initiating the offense.
“He’s showing that he should be in the NBA,” Vereen said of Plowden. “The way he plays so hard, aggressively, on both ends, he doesn’t take a play off. It’s a pleasure as a coach to watch him put himself in a better position.”
The Warriors closed the first quarter on a 15-2 run behind a pair of 3-pointers by Podziemski and a swarming defense. That blitz earned the Warriors a 13-point lead.
The game before, in the California Classic finale, Golden State nearly choked away a 21-point lead over the Kings, but ended up surviving.
There was no concern of blowing a lead this time around. They wouldn’t let the Suns get within single digits again.
With Podziemski organizing and Plowden finishing, Golden State extended its lead to 20. The Warriors drained seven of their first 16 3-point attempts and limited Phoenix from behind the arc on the other end.
Like most Summer League games, the Suns and Warriors didn’t play especially clean basketball. In the first 20 minutes, they combined for 20 turnovers, several of which turned into fast breaks.
Phoenix cut the Warriors’ lead to 11 in the third, but back-to-back dunks from Plowden prevented a true run from materializing. The first came off excellent ball-handling from Podziemski against rookie Ryan Dunn’s pressure, and the second came on a fast break where he ran his lane hard. Another slam later was a put-back jam while he flew in from the weak-side corner.
Also in the period, off an Ethan Thompson block, Plowden canned a corner 3 in transition to push his points total to 19. At 6-foot-6, the 25-year-old free agent has the makeup of a real two-way force.
“Within the flow of the game,” Vereen said. “You’re going to be a role player at the next level, they’re not going to run plays for you. So to have a guy be so efficient and effective without a play being called for him, to do the dirty things and the small things, he’s showing us that he can play well in the NBA.”
A personal 6-0 run from Trayce Jackson-Davis sent the Warriors into the fourth quarter with a 19-point advantage. The rest of the way was more of the same.
Late in the fourth, with the game in hand, Plowden opted against taking an open 3 in the corner, instead touching an extra pass to Thompson for an even cleaner look from 3.
“I think it’s all flow,” Plowden said of the play. “We know Ethan’s a great player. Even though I had it going tonight, we all know Ethan can get going at any moment…It went from a good look to a great look.”
Since Summer League began, Vereen has been pushing a philosophy of fast pace, unselfishness and connectivity. Besides the second half of the Kings game, the Warriors have embraced everything he has tried to pass down to them.
Plowden’s embodying it.
Notable
- Second-round pick Quinten Post didn’t dress for a fourth straight game as the Warriors await clearance from the performance staff. Post was a full participant in the team’s last two practices and has been ramping up from a minor leg injury. Roman Sorkin was also inactive.
- Chris Paul sat courtside in the Thomas & Mack Center with his new coach, Gregg Popovich and teammate, Harrison Barnes. The Spurs game was right before the Warriors’ contest, so Paul had time to catch up with scores of Warriors staffers and coaches on the court.
- Jonathan Kuminga, Gary Payton II, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney sat courtside for the Warriors’ game. Kuminga sat with his agent and did a sideline interview with ESPN before signing a couple autographs for fans and greeting Mike Dunleavy Jr., who was doing a live hit at the broadcast booth.
- Summer League center Marques Bolden appeared to injure his lower left leg halfway through the second quarter. He couldn’t get up after going for a rebound and grabbed at his left heel or ankle before teammates helped him to the locker room.Bolden, a veteran free agent, has had a nice camp with the Warriors. Injuries have disrupted his NBA career, but he has talent as a rim protector and trail 3-point shooter.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com