Warriors rookie Quinten Post is outpacing the greatest shooter in NBA history from beyond the arc. Yes, you read that correctly.
Golden State’s 7-foot center, as the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ron Kroichick pointed out on X after the Warriors’ 104-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday at Chase Center, has made more 3-pointers (53) through his first 31 NBA games this season than Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame-bound teammate Steph Curry (40) did through his first 31 career games 15 years ago.
This stat conveys how much basketball has changed in the past 15 years: #Warriors rookie center Quinten Post has made 53 three-point shots through his first 31 career games. Stephen Curry made 40 in his first 31 career games (2009-10). Whatever happened to that Curry guy?
Of course, context is important, and as Kroichick alludes to, the game of basketball has changed dramatically since Curry’s rookie 2009-10 NBA season. In large part, due to his impact.
However, Post’s success from the 3-point line still is eye-opening. In 31 games this season, the Warriors’ rookie big man is shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc, the best clip on the team.
While Post has emerged as a reliable stretch big for the Warriors this season, the rookie still is developing at the NBA level. After a pair of turnovers in Tuesday night’s game, Post was pulled and went back to the Warriors bench, where he was seen chatting with Curry, who did not play against the Bucks due to rest.
“I don’t think [the conversation] was about the turnovers, more defensively when they’re trying to get me in the action, trying to pick on me,” Post told reporters postgame “Steph said ‘I’ve been dealing with this for 16 years, so you’ve just got to keep your head cool, do the best of your ability and whatever you do on the floor do it with some type of aggression and things will usually end up right.”
Although the two sharpshooters play different positions on the court and have wildly different physical attributes, there still is plenty the 24-year-old can learn from Curry.
Given how poor the Charlotte Hornets have been this season, using them as a measuring stick isn't the best approach. However, that should not be used as an excuse to dismiss Hawks rookie Zaccharie Risacher's performance on Tuesday. With the Hawks winning by a 134-102 final score, he only played 24 minutes, but the first-overall pick made the most of those minutes. Shooting 7-of-15 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line, Risacher finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one block and five three-pointers.
Rostered in 21 percent of Yahoo! leagues, Risacher has provided 11th-round value in eight-cat formats since the All-Star break. However, over the past week, he has averaged 15.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 three-pointers per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 100 percent from the foul line. Of course, Risacher providing more consistent production in the assist and defensive (steals and blocks) categories would be nice. Still, there's no denying that the rookie has made strides in his development.
The Hawks are competing for the seventh seed in the East, which guarantees home-court advantage in the 7/8 play-in game. Thus, Risacher is not at risk of being shut down. The only negative is the Hawks' schedule, which includes two more games in Week 20 and three in Week 21. Let's look at a few other low-rostered standouts on a light night in the Association.
PF/C Kyle Filipowski (32%), Utah Jazz
The Jazz did not play on Tuesday but released their injury report for Wednesday's game against the Wizards. Walker Kessler (rest) is out, and given how the team has handled Lauri Markkanen's minutes, it would be stunning if he logged more than 25 on Wednesday. Enter Filipowski, who has been a 10th-round player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks. He's worth adding ahead of Wednesday's action, and fantasy managers should strongly consider keeping Kyle, regardless of his production against the Wizards.
PG/SG Keon Johnson (30%), Brooklyn Nets
Johnson only played 23 minutes in Tuesday's loss to the Celtics, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, one assist, two steals and three three-pointers. That certainly isn't an attention-grabbing stat line, but the Nets guard has shot 44.6 percent from the field over the past two weeks. Of course, Johnson also shot 58.3 percent from the foul line during this period, but he is improving. And with the Nets on a collision course with the draft lottery, there will likely be more nights when D'Angelo Russell is given the night off. That will be when Johnson is most valuable to fantasy managers.
SG/SF Buddy Hield (30%), Golden State Warriors
Hield has primarily been a specialist for fantasy managers this season, but there was a little more room for him to flourish on Tuesday. The Warriors did not have Stephen Curry for their win over the Bucks, and Hield was one of the players who stepped up. Shooting 5-of-7 from the field, he recorded 15 points, six rebounds, one steal and four three-pointers in 24 minutes. With Brandin Podziemski returning on Tuesday, there may not be many nights like Tuesday in Hield's immediate future once Curry returns. But he will be worth the risk if Steph misses Thursday's game against the Raptors.
SG/SF Max Strus (19%), Cleveland Cavaliers
Strus had a good night in Inglewood, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and finishing the Cavaliers' loss to the Clippers with 24 points, four rebounds, one assist and five three-pointers in 26 minutes. He's made five three-pointers on five occasions, and the 24 points were a season-high. The Cavaliers visit the Kings on Wednesday, but Strus has been one of the players who has consistently played both games of back-to-back. If the team decides to rest one (or more) of its stars, Strus will have added fantasy value despite being similar to Hield from a fantasy basketball standpoint.
SG DaQuan Jeffries (5%), Charlotte Hornets
While his fantasy value hasn't been much to write about, Jeffries has received consistent opportunities to show what he can do as the Hornets play out the remainder of the season. He has started five straight and seven of his last eight outings. Jeffries, a 14th-round player in nine-cat formats over the past two weeks, finished Tuesday's loss to the Hawks with 19 points, five rebounds, one assist, two blocks and three three-pointers in 32 minutes. Only Damion Baugh played more than Jeffries, and he logged 33 minutes. Jeffries is not a must-add right now, but he would offer greater value if the Hornets were to shut down LaMelo Ball or Miles Bridges. Neither player saw action on Tuesday.
Clippers guard Norman Powell shoots as Cleveland Cavaliers forwards Isaac Okoro, left, and Evan Mobley defend during the first half. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
The test for the Clippers came from the team many consider the best in the NBA, the team many consider a title contender, the team with the best record in the league, three All-Stars and an All-Star coach.
The test for the Clippers came from the team that’s second in scoring (122.5 points), second in field-goal percentage (49.2), first in three-point shooting percentage (38.8) and has seven players averaging double-digit points.
That’s what the Clippers were up against when they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Intuit Dome on Tuesday night, and they had to do it without coach Tyronn Lue, who missed the game because of recurring back pain.
The Clippers passed that test, proving during a 132-119 win that this tough, gritty team can play with and beat the best.
They won their fourth straight game behind the strength from Ivica Zubac’s powerful double-double of 29 points and 20 rebounds on his 28th birthday.
“We’re not trying to get statement wins,” Zubac said. “We’re just trying to get wins, get as many wins as we can. We can play against anyone. When we’re at our best, and I think we showed that tonight. That’s the best team in the league right there, best record in the league.”
They won it behind Kawhi Leonard’s efficient 33 points on 12-for-18 shooting, including five for six from three-point range and behind James Harden’s 22 points and nine assists that saw the Clippers win their seventh game in their past eight outings.
“Like I said before, we need these wins coming down the stretch right now,” Leonard said. “It’s giving you a playoff atmosphere, especially with the crowd being engaged the whole time.”
Clippers guard James Harden, right, celebrates after scoring as Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter runs by during the second half Tuesday in Inglewood. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
They won it behind strong play from their bench, getting 20 points and seven assists from Bogdan Bogdanovic and 10 points from Derrick Jones Jr.
Bogdanovic was especially effective, going eight-for-eight from the field and four-for-four from the three-point line.
“We talked about it. We had 14 games before this one, now we have 13 games left and we’re just trying to get better every single game,” Bogdanovic said. “Offensively, defensively, communication, on the floor and not waste our time on the floor with different type of lineups and different roles. I’m just happy that everybody contributed in their roles tonight.”
And they won it behind a defense that became stingy in the second half.
They had given up 73 points in the first half and watched the Cavaliers shoot 56.5% from the field and 50% from three-point range.
But the Clippers held the Cavaliers to 46 points in the last 24 minutes, including 17 in the fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers have one of the best backcourts in All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and have All-Star forward Evan Mobley and All-Star coach Kenny Atkinson.
But the Clippers put the clamps on the guard duo, holding Mitchell to 18 points on five-for-18 shooting and Garland to 17 points on six-for-14 shooting.
The Clippers (39-30) still are the eighth-seeded team in the Western Conference, 1½ games behind the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors and one game behind the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
“We kind of for the first time in a while, if not all season, we pretty much had everybody available at our disposal tonight,” said Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw, who took the controls again with Lue out. “When we have everybody, we have depth and certain nights it’s going to be different guys. It was great to see Kawhi having that pop in his step tonight. Zu just being dominant the way he has been all season long…We just need each other pulling for each other and pulling in the same direction.”
Lue, Van Gundy out
Lue has missed four of the last six games because of back issues. He last coached Sunday against Charlotte and was in pain during the game.
“Daily we get updates, but his back issues intensified again,” Shaw said. “He was getting better. I think last game he was on the bench with a hot pad on his shoulder most of the game. So, we’re all just hoping and praying that whatever it is, they can get to the bottom of it and he’ll be back.”
The Clippers also didn’t have assistant Jeff Van Gundy, who is in charge of directing the team's defense and missed the game because of an unspecified family matter.
