If you’re not familiar with Pat Spencer by this point, then you probably should be.
After his defiant declaration on Thursday in Philadelphia, Spencer backed it up in the Warriors’ 99-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night at Rocket Arena. The 29-year-old point guard — in his first career NBA start — scored a career-high 19 points to go with seven assists and four rebounds.
Steve Kerr offered a priceless moment in his postgame presser, repeating Spencer’s audacious quote that could end up being iconic in Warriors lore.
“I think the other thing is that his coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker,” Kerr told reporters. “I think that became clear.”
"His coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker."
Was Kerr previously aware of that quality Spencer possesses? That was the next question for Golden State’s coach.
“No, I was getting the inkling, you know,” Kerr replied. “It was starting to creep in, but I didn’t realize it until he told the world, and tonight it was very clear.”
Minutes later, Gui Santos similarly agreed with Spencer’s assertion.
“A huge compliment for Pat, that guy,” Santos explained to reporters, before asking if he could swear. “Pat is that motherf–ker, you know. He’s great. It’s great to have a guy like that on the team.”
Southern California guard Amarion Dickerson will be out three to four months after injuring his right hip in the 24th-ranked Trojans' win over Oregon this week, coach Eric Musselman said Saturday. The combo guard-forward was averaging 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and nearly 22 minutes in eight games for the Trojans (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten). The senior from Cleveland, Ohio, started 31 of 35 games last season at Robert Morris, where he was the Horizon League defensive player of the year.
Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder.
On Saturday, the Bulls made official what coach Billy Donovan had said a few days earlier: surgery was required, and the usual recovery time is six to seven months. Essengue injured his shoulder in a G-League game and, while the team first said it was a contusion, it turned out to be more than that.
Essengue was the No. 12 pick in last June's draft and at Summer League showed his fluid athleticism and potential, but also was raw (as expected). He was mainly remembered for being on the wrong end of a meme during his first trip to Las Vegas. The Bulls wanted to deal with this injury now so that Essengue will have next summer to work on his game (whether he will play in Summer League remains to be seen).
This season, Essengue played just six total minutes for the Bulls. In four G-League games, Essengue averaged 23 points a game on 50.8% from the floor, plus grabbing 8.5 rebounds a game.
Budding Blue Devils star Cameron Boozer piled up 18 points, including 16 in the second half, as well as 15 rebounds and 5 assists while navigating foul trouble in the road victory.
Remember all those games where the Warriors played a team without multiple stars yet still found themselves on the losing side? Saturday night in Cleveland finally was the opposite for Golden State.
The Warriors, without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, continued to show their competitive spirit. They only had 10 healthy players on the first night of a back-to-back while the Cleveland Cavaliers had their Big Three and the majority of their most important players. As the Warriors have learned time and time again, the game isn’t played on paper but on the hardwood.
Behind the all-powerful Pat Spencer and a spunky bunch of role players, the Warriors pulled off a wild 99-94 upset win against the Cavs at Rocket Arena.
Spencer earned his first career start and continued to dazzle. The 29-year-old on a two-way contract scored a new career-high 19 points and was a plus-9 in 29 minutes. Spencer also had a team-high seven assists.
Scoring came up and down the Warriors’ roster. Gui Santos’ 14 points were second to Spencer, and five players scored in double figures.
Here are three takeaways from a huge Warriors win on the road.
Pat Spencer, Starting Point Guard
A major change was seen in the Warriors’ starting lineup with so many injuries. But the move wasn’t made solely because of a lack of players. Spencer on Saturday was rewarded with his first career NBA start after providing a needed spark with perhaps the two best performances of his career in back-to-back games.
Spencer on Tuesday tied his career-high of 17 points with three rebounds, six assists and one steal. He then followed that up with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal. So, what did he do in his first start?
The first quarter wasn’t easy because of two early fouls. But then Spencer got the Warriors going in the second quarter, pushing the pace, getting into the paint and assisting on three 3-pointers. That made Spencer a team-high plus-10 through the first half with four points, two rebounds and three assists as the Warriors led by nine points.
Winning time is Spencer time. He scored six fourth-quarter points against OKC, 12 in Philadelphia and another 12 in Cleveland with multiple clutch shots made. Spencer in the second half scored 15 points with two rebounds and four assists.
How JK, Podz Responded
During Steve Kerr’s pregame press conference, the Warriors coach laid out the best paths to success for Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, two former first-round NBA draft picks who have struggled as of late.
“Well, JK, it’s always run the floor, take care of the ball – the turnovers have been an issue lately,” Kerr told reporters. “So I’m really urging him to get up the floor instead of, you know, holding back in the backcourt and asking for the ball. I want him to be the first guy down the floor, not the last.”
Kuminga was in the starting five after coming off the bench his past four games. He began by dribbling, dribbling, dribbling and missing between a couple fadeaways inside the arc, a missed three and a blocked layup. Kuminga missed his first seven shots and was the lone Warrior held scoreless in the first half, but he did have three rebounds and three assists.
The game became easier for Kuminga in the third quarter, cutting to the hoop for easy points or getting to the free-throw line. Kuminga only played two and a half minutes in the fourth quarter. Though he did grab seven rebounds, Kuminga was just 1 of 10 from the field for four points.
“With Brandin, he’s got to get off the ball early,” Kerr continued. “When he gets into trouble is when he tries too hard to make plays on his own, instead of doing what he does best, which is to move the ball and be part of a five-man group that is really executing.”
Unlike Kuminga, Podziemski did not get the starting nod. All 10 healthy Warriors played in the first half, and Podziemski was the only one whose plus/minus wasn’t in the positive. Podziemski was a minus-1 going into halftime with five points, two rebounds and two assists.
Podziemski made a huge step-through layup with a minute and a half left and closed the game after not playing the entire fourth quarter Thursday night. The third-year guard ended as a minus-5, scoring 10 points and adding three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Great defense leads to offense, and that was the story for the Warriors in Cleveland. The Warriors’ defense was connected on a string and frustrated the Cavs for all four quarters.
The Cavs came into Saturday night averaging 119.6 points per game, good for seventh in the NBA. They scored 36 in the first half and finished with 94. They average 15.3 made threes per game, good for fifth in the NBA. Their 10 threes made were five below their season average. None of this was by mistake.
Donovan Mitchell averages 30 points per game and scored 29, but needed 26 shots. Nobody else scored 20 points for the Cavs. Evan Mobley (18 points) and Darius Garland (17 points) barely missed the mark. They also were a combined 14-of-34 shooting (41.2 percent).
The Cavs’ 94 points was a season low. The Warriors quietly have cracked the top five in defensive rating and for the second straight game held their opponent to under 100 points.
"I'm just staying ready. I'm hooping right now. I don't know what's next. I'm still scarred by it all. Still processing everything. But I'm staying ready."
The reality of what is next for Chris Paul is a little more complex.
While he is away from the team, the Clippers have not released him and reportedly are working with him on a potential trade. However, league sources told NBC Sports that teams with interest in Paul are going to sit back and wait for him to be released, then sign him as a free agent rather than giving up anything in a deal. The Clippers are up against their first-apron hard cap and can't release Paul and replace him with another veteran minimum contract. LA can't afford that until January (they could release him and promote two-way player Kobe Sanders to a regular contract, staying below that line). Beyond that, Paul signed in Los Angeles to be close to his family, he's not likely to want to go far away to end his career (there is one other team in Los Angeles, but it also is up against a first apron hard cap and is not in a position to bring anyone in for a while, and when they do an older backup guard is not likely the need). It will be interesting to see which teams step up to try to sign him once they can.
Paul may need to be hooping and staying ready on his own for a while.
Before NBA training camp opened, rumors about Giannis Antetokounmpo pushing the Bucks to have trade talks with the Knicks were everywhere. That's when, at media day, Antetokounmpo tried to quash all that saying he was all in on this team now, and in six or seven months maybe he would change his mind.
Then the Bucks stumbled out of the gate, and this week the rumor mill cranked up into high gear this week when a report came out that Antetokounmpo and his agent would meet with the Milwaukee front office to discuss his future with the franchise. Antetokounmpo hasn't spoken to the media since all this started (he is currently out 2-4 weeks with a calf strain), but he did talk with NBA insider Chris Haynes, who discussed that conversation on Amazon Prime's NBA coverage Friday, with Antetokounmpo reportedly echoing what he said before the season started.
"I want to run through the wall and make things work." As a reminder, here is what Antetokounmpo said at media day that was along the same lines:
"I've said this many times, I want to be in a situation that I can win and now I'm here. I believe in this team. I believe in my teammates. I'm here to lead this team to wherever we can go and it's definitely going to be hard. We're going to take it day by day, but I'm here. So, all the other extra stuff does not matter... Now, if in six, seven months, I change my mind, I think that's human too, you're allowed to make any decision you want, but I'm locked in. I'm locked in to this team. I'm locked in to these guys, to this group and to this coaching staff and to myself."
There should be no doubt that Antetokounmpo wants to make things work in Milwaukee and that he will make every effort to do so. He is not going to be a disruptive force. It's also possible to play hard and try to make things work while understanding the bigger picture about the Bucks' competitiveness and what that might mean in the long term.
Milwaukee is only going to trade Antetokounmpo if he pushes for it — it's the only reason for the conversations with New York in August (after the Knicks had extended Mikal Bridges and couldn't really make a decent trade offer). There are a lot of questions that flow if and when that request is made — starting with if the Bucks would help get Antetokounmpo to his preferred destination, or if they are taking the offer on the table that's best for them — but it all has to start with Antetokounmpo willing to forcefully push his way out.
Antetokounmpo being traded still feels more like something that will happen in the offseason, when roster size limits are expanded and the concerns of the luxury tax aprons are less pressing. However, if the Bucks stumble further down in the East while Antetokounmpo is out injured, that dynamic could change.
The 19-year NBA veteran’s self-assessment? Harsh yet honest and accurate.
“I’m not where I want to be,” Horford told Friedell on Thursday. “I would say I haven’t been very good. I understand that there’s a lot of work ahead of me, there’s more that I need to do, and I need to be better, and I feel like I will. But right now, I’m not where I want to be.”
The former All-Star and NBA champion, who won’t play back-to-back games this season, only has featured in 13 games for Golden State, averaging career-lows of 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.5 minutes.
On Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers, Horford returned after missing two weeks due to sciatica.
“It’s not so much frustrating,” Horford told Friedell. “It’s just that there are a lot of different circumstances going on. Whether it’s injury, missing time away from the team, there’s a lot of factors, and there’s no excuses, but I take all of this first part with a hint of salt, and I know that I will be better. So I know that I will be better.”
Outside of adjusting to a new system, injuries and playing for a team based west of the Great Plains, Horford and his wife, Amelia, recently welcomed their sixth child.
It has been a whirlwind, but Horford knows exactly what parts of his game he has to improve on.
“For me, it’s continuing to figure everything out defensively,” Horford added to Friedell. “So being more of a support on the defensive end. And then on offense, getting more comfortable in spots so I can impact the team.
“Being able to get to the right spots to shoot the three, and just giving the team more on the offensive end. Whether it’s setting screens, getting guys open, things like that. That’s always something that I’m going to continue to try to be better at.”
Horford made his first start of the season in the Warriors’ 99-98 loss to the 76ers.
And although his performance wasn’t the most convincing, it’s a step in the right direction for the veteran, especially during a time in which an injury-riddled Warriors could benefit from the brand of basketball that has kept Horford in the league for nearly two decades.
“That’s always been my mindset,” Horford told Friedell. “And I understand it, but right now the team needs me. We need to be a little better, and this is a part of it; it’s a part of the journey. But in my mind, I know where I need to be when that time comes.”
