Will Richard is the best Warriors rookie defender since ___? 🤔

I didn’t even mention except on the livestream from preseason Game 1 versus the Lakers that Will Richard had probably the record for most scouting report notes (see Comments of that video for all notes) in a row since the inception of LetsGoWarriors:

2:21:45 1m42 q3 will rich fast break behind back assist

2:23:45 0m30 q3 will rich got a hand in again

2:30:00 11m43 q4 will rich nice get back to nick smith j

2:30:45 11m25 q4 will rich sidestep 2 miss after not shooting open 3

2:31:55 10m52 q4 will rich gets around screen nicely again

2:32:35 put will rich pic next to “how to play d as a rook”

2:32:50 10m09 q4 will rich again catches up to nick

2:33:45 9m27 q4 will rich again nice d

2:34:45 9m14 q4 will rich nice p&r d causes tov nick

And then he did it again last night, to the point where I don’t even take notes on him anymore except for crazy stuff. But he still got, like, three things that jumped out before I stopped taking notes for the game:

1:59:30 4m21 q3 Will Rich stays in front

2:06:30 1m54 q3 Gui nice move but dribble oob

2:07:30 1m16 q3 Trayce bad box out, then bad D

2:13:30 11m47 q4 gui made two guys bump into each other

2:17:00 10m10 q4 Will Rich base feed qp, then deflect steal

2:18:00 9m31 q4 gui triple team feed qp 3

2:21:15 7m57 q4 will rich steal and lay 94-102

2:24:30 7m46 q4 will rich and cryer blitz and force a timeout

Those of you who still have the app, go to Xitter and search on “will richard” defense or “will richard” defensive. For once (or in this case, twice) you get some nice, clean results, even dating back to the Florida Gators.

Who’s the last Warriors rookie that made this many plays on defense, that jumped off the page? I’m not gonna say his name!

Out of respect for, um, Day-Day, Dean “of Positivity” Chambers texted me back late last night and said, “Kevon Looney.” Okay. I’m good with that. (Whatever!) 🤫

Seems like Richard’s coming into training camp like a sponge, per the postgame — full transcript below.

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Late in the live last night, I gave a sneak peek of DJ D-Sharp saying his most memorable influential time as a DJ was the night Nipsey Hussle was shot and D-Sharp played “Last Time That I Checc’ed” during a timeout and some of the Warriors were dancing on the bench:

In other news from last night, Jonathan Kuminga had four turnovers and two of them were in the backcourt.

Quinten Post couldn’t box anybody out — there was the horrid sequence where Portland got about four offensive rebounds in a row — but then he settled into the anchor role of the 1-3-1 zone that Jerry Stackhouse busted out late Q4 and got physical, even against the wily veteran handsy moves of rookie Yang Hansen (he’s gonna be great, btw). In short, Post improved during the game.

So we’re still seeing flashes of old selves with Kuminga and QP, but I do think it’s rust, particularly for JK, who obviously avoided playing any pickup as a restricted free agent all summer.

Steve Kerr postgame said they didn’t come ready to play, which was something I also said during the broadcast. The epitome of that was how easily Shaedon Sharpe, with 20 points in the first half, sliced and diced.

Pat Spencer reiterated that on the podium postgame (see below). But it was a preseason game and likely individual matchups weren’t emphasized pregame, so let’s give the whole squad a break on that front.

So, Kerr will go with the same Draymond-Green-alongside-Al-Horford lineup and that won by a landslide in our live poll — which was basically the same sentiment for Opening Night (against the Lakers yet again):

Also, it was more the second unit that left the team down by 14 at the end of the first quarter. JK did miss QP open down low for a split second one time, but still had his moments, like a nice kick-spray to Brandin Podziemski in the corner, who then clanked the open 3, plus the SportsCenter-worthy block of Sharpe’s dunk attempt — which didn’t faze Sharpe one bit, by the way; in other words the Trail Blazers are gonna be a fun team to watch this season.

Finally, we address the Kuminga-Jimmy Butler lesson. JK just needs more reps, but Butler literally told him, “I’m gonna throw you the ball,” here:

It had to do with the angle. The through-line from Jimmy being triple-teamed deep on the left baseline to Kuminga who was nearly at the top, maybe just a 15-degree angle from the top, Jrue Holiday blocked that through-line.

So Kuminga is still learning. Whether or not he should have been more at the wing or cut to the corner, or maybe to the elbow, that’s up to the coaching staff and Jimmy, but JK sure as heck did not need to be near the top of the circle, the longest path for Jimmy to make a feed from being swarmed.

Are court spacing issues surprising for a player who started AAU at age 13? No. It’s okay. It’s a process. Basically, JK is about six years behind the typical American athlete.

He just turned 23, so really, he just turned 17 in basketball years, if you assume most American kids start playing organized AAU ball at age 7. Do you remember when you were 17? I do. I didn’t know shit when it comes to basketball and spacing at age 17. Actually, I didn’t start playing organized ball until age 13, myself. At 23, I still didn’t know shit. For me, it came together by age 26 (gulp!). 😳

Let’s hope he starts to get it soon, though. We need him to, if there’s gonna be a championship run.

But it was a great win by the youngsters and kudos to Steve for really trying to win it at the end, subbing Gui Santos for Jackson Rowe for defense and then Rowe back in for Post for mobility to get a stop late to close the game, making sure Richard got rest along the way. Kerr coached his butt off, so did Stackhouse as mentioned, and I’m sure everyone on the staff, and it was only Preseason Game Number Two.

A lot of good tape to look at for certain youngsters. For vets like Green, I’m not worried and really, I don’t care about their performances in the preseason. They need to pace themselves for the 82, anyways.

Here’s more fun quips from the night. Come join us some time — and sign up for the FREE summit, please!

POSTGAME TRANSCRIPTS:

00:00 Just, walk me through that. Walk me through that last basket, that little floater you had late in the fourth. What, was going through your head? What were you, seeing?

10:00 LJ CRYER, POSTGAME POR-GSW: just taking what the defense gave me, honestly. we was getting late in the clock and, I trust my ability to go get a basket at the end of the clock. And, the ball found me. you sometimes you just gotta go out there and make a play. So once it found me, that’s what I went, did.

00:26 It looked like Steve was coaching you guys pretty hard towards the end of that, that the game, what was he telling you guys in those moments?

00:33 Just organizing us, letting us know time and score, what defense we were in, what he was looking for on offense. So just making sure we were organized out there and, just telling us to keep playing together. we came out flat today and, that group at the end, we’ve been sitting there so we got a lot of energy. we just had to, take advantage of the moment.

00:57 What did it mean to you? I know, it’s a preseason game, but like you said, taking advantage of the moment you guys scored 51 points in the fourth quarter. What does it mean to you to contribute to a win like that?

01:09 I’m all about winning. I win everywhere I’ve been and, at this level I want to continue to, make that what I’m about. I know it’s preseason, but we, I’m treating it like it’s a real game. ‘cause this is, we, you get limited opportunities. like I said, gotta take advantage of it.

01:31 LJ how would you describe your first NBA training camp?

01:34 Oh, man. it is been wonderful just being able to learn from guys like Steph Curry, buddy Hield, even Podz. They’ve, been, talking to us. they don’t. I don’t know. I just feel like they’re real helpful and it’s a blessing to be here and get to learn from them every single day. I’m just taking it all in

01:55 to, to follow up off of that, what are your biggest goals to prove to your teammates, and especially the coaching staff throughout the preseason?

02:05 just show improvements every single day. these guys have watched me in college, they know my game and, they know the things I need to get better at, and I understand the things I need to get better at. it’s about just improving day by day and just keep, chipping at that rock. That’s my mindset and, I think as long as I keep my head down and grinding, things will work out well for me.

02:28 Does playing on the biggest stage in those high pressure moments in college have you more prepared and ready for these kind of situations?

02:34 I definitely think so. playing in Final Fours and Big 12 Championship, things like that, I’ve played at the, highest level that I could play at in college. So coming out here, I try not to let the crowd and the noise bother me, so I definitely think it, it helps.

02:53 What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from Steph and Draymond, the vets in this training camp? Is there a particular one that you can share?

03:01 Just how they work and, I watch Steph workout after every practice, just seeing how he works, how hard he goes and his workouts. Like taking game reps after game reps. and then just the communication they have with each other on the floor is they know where each other’s gonna be without even saying it to each other. and Steph, is really good without the ball. I watch him off the ball and see how he sets himself up to get open. I feel like those are some things I can implement in my game to make me a better player.

03:34 Were you surprised at how much space you created with the in and Out dribble crossing Half Court with a minute left?

03:40 A little bit. I didn’t know I was gonna get that much space, but once I saw it I was like, I gotta let it fly. Yeah.

03:55 That it. Cool.

03:56 Thank you. Thank y’all.

03:58 Will, just take us through that fourth quarter, 51 points, feeling the energy of the crowd too. Just how was that comeback victory in your eyes?

04:06 WILL RICHARD: Yeah, it felt good. just coming out there, playing the right way. We came out with energy. we knew we had to get some stops on the defensive end that led our transition. Once we got that going, we got ourselves rolling and ended up coming out with a win, so it felt good.

04:18 The consensus from your teammates have been that you’re a sponge who’s just ready to learn. I’m wondering back to college how you learned to be a leader and maybe some of the older guys that took you under your wings before you stepped into that role as well.

04:31 yeah. For me, it is definitely just been something that has always been a characteristic of mine. Just wanted to learn as much as possible. ‘cause, I definitely don’t know everything when it comes to basketball and I’m. In a perfect situation. Got a great group of vets and stuff like that have been through everything in basketball. And for me, I just want to ask them as many questions as possible. ‘cause I know they’ve been through it and I know it’s gonna help my career. Learning from them.

04:51 What’s the biggest lesson you have learned through, two preseason games and training camp? What’s something you’ve learned?

04:56 For me, just, being able to adapt to different situations, different games, and, Steph always tells me it’s just basketball. So just keeping that perspective of going out there and just playing the right way, having fun with it.

05:06 And, what have you seen from LJ Cryer and training camp and now obviously lit it up in the fourth quarter?

05:13 Yeah, I feel LJ’s been, very consistent in training camp. the way he attacks every day. He’s always, early one in here getting his shots up and stuff like that, and he’s confident he’s going out there and playing the right way, making the right reads and, just making the team better when he is out there. So it’s been fun to play with him.

05:29 What was the coaching staff talking to you guys about in, in that fourth quarter when you guys were making that comeback and setting up plays to clinch that game?

05:36 Yeah, It was just, keeping the same energy, keep rotating on defense, keep making the right plays and making the easy ones. So I feel like once we got out and transition we were able to, read their defense a lot easier and, get ourselves set up to put ourselves in the best situation to win.

05:54 Yeah. Cool. Alright, we’ll have QP up here.

05:57 Appreciate y’all.

05:58 51 point, fourth quarter. What kind of rhythm, what kind of groove do you feel like you guys found?

06:03 PAT SPENCER: Yeah. when I first got in there, in that third quarter. felt like we were trying to move the ball, get it going side to side. play a little bit of five out, and, no pun intended, but they’re, long and athletic. So ultimately sometimes you have to attack that length and athleticism with a little bit of pressure on your own. And fortunately they had a big fella in there. He was in the drop quite a bit, and QP provides another weapon for us behind the three point line. Yeah, ultimately tried to be a guy that gets us moving side to side, get guys involved. But, felt like when I got back in there in the fourth, in order to keep the momentum going, that those guys built, quite frankly, Will, LJ, those guys that were in there, in order to keep it going, we, felt like we had to lead. Alleviate some of that ball pressure, with a high ball screen and get downhill a little bit and then obviously utilize QP shooting the rock.

06:58 And to follow up on that, as it pertains to QP in particular, what kind of rhythm, what kind of groove did you guys get in running pick and pop, and just what have you seen from him throughout the course of camp?

07:06 Yeah. I think when he gets in there, he knows he is got the green light to let it go. And very easy to play with the guy who’s got a great feel for the game. their big fella was, pretty comfortable back there in the drop, but I don’t think he wanted to, play on the perimeter very much. And great ball screen from the big fella and then, get downhill. Utilize my strength that way. But, they, were pursuing the ball. They didn’t break it off. And red or, switch. And so left QP wide open at the top of the key quite a few times. And, pretty good rhythm. I, quite frankly, I threw one a little bit low at his ankles. He picked it up and still knocked it down.

07:43 Pat, throughout camp, what have you noticed from Will Richard as someone who seems to just love to hound defensively?

07:48 Yeah. Competitor, and quite frankly came in here wanting to learn, which is pretty cool. Obviously you’ve got some really good guys to learn from, but, he’s been a sponge the entire training camp, and incredible attitude. You can tell he just loves the game, loves good people. And yeah, happy to have him on board and, excited to see him grow.

08:11 What have you, seen from LJ Cryer in training camp? Are you surprised by what he did in this fourth quarter or is this something he’s been doing for the last few weeks?

08:19 He’s been doing that all the way back to his college days, I think for him. Smart kid. So he is trying to figure out how to pick his spots. Ultimately, he can shoot the cover off the ball. would love to have him up here for some games, but if he plays down in the G League, he’s gonna light it up can shoot the cover off of it. High IQ guy really wants to make the right basketball play, which at times, it’s gonna be him scoring the ball, what you saw tonight. so in camp, when you got a guy like number 30 on your team, you probably lean towards finding him to, knock down open jumpers. But LJ’s gonna have an opportunity to grow as a player, and utilize his strengths as you saw tonight.

09:00 It looked like Steve was coaching you guys pretty hard in that, fourth quarter and taking the game really seriously. What sort of conversations was he having with you guys in, in the huddle there?

09:08 Yeah, I, think he just wants us to play, as hard as we can. get some good film together. Obviously the preseasons about learning for everybody. And if we can put some good tape together that’ll help the starters, that’ll help the guys that are coming in during the regular season. That’s what it’s all about. Steve’s always been that way. he doesn’t quit. after halftime when the main guys shut it down. He wants to coach each individual and help them be the best they can be, which is pretty cool.

09:36 From your perspective, what did you see in the first half from your teammates? How did you diagnose what went wrong?

09:42 Yeah, I, think our guard to guard action defensively was, pretty rough. quite frankly, we’re gonna see a lot of that. The league is heading there quite a bit. OKC, the high level team tend to have a lot of guard to guard action, so for us it’s about getting, pretty dialed in on our principles, how we wanna cover that. I felt like we, we gave them a little bit too much comfortability with the rock in their hands. They were pretty comfortable, I thought. I thought Shaedon Sharpe kind of got to wherever the heck he wanted the whole night, so for us it’s about personnel a little bit more. I think they’ve got a few guys that don’t handle as well or quite frankly don’t want to handle. Probably should have gotten the ball on their hands a little bit more, been up off the baselines a bit more. I think they flattened us out quite a bit and they made shots, they, it felt like they were making all their threes pretty early on. So we’ve gotta find a way to, to balance, our aggression on the ball and picking our spots a little bit more, but full confidence in our staff that, we’ll, get something together here. Cool. Thank you.

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