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What we learned as Brandin Podziemski dominates in Warriors' loss to Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Dating back to last season, the Warriors came into Sunday night having won eight consecutive preseason games. The streak came to an end in their 126-116 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. 

The Warriors were without multiple key contributors, including Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Al Horford and Moses Moody. Seth Curry missed his third straight preseason game after being a late signing to training camp, and De’Anthony Melton (knee) and Alex Toohey (ankle) continue to be out from injuries.

Vying for a starting position in the backcourt, Brandin Podziemski took advantage of being a focal point of the Warriors’ offense. Podziemski had nine points through the first half and then caught fire in the third, scoring 14. The Warriors then only trailed by five points going into the fourth quarter because of Podziemski’s efforts. 

Podziemski’s night was done, leaving the comeback attempt to the rest of his teammates. But Sunday night in LA belonged to Podziemski, showing how he can be a reliable scorer and playmaker, especially when the Warriors aren’t at full strength. Podziemski in 26 minutes scored 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and also had five rebounds and eight assists. He was a plus-6.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ first loss of the preseason.

Shorthanded Starters

Down their top two players, adding Horford and Moody to the list of Warriors absences called for an interesting starting five. Coach Steve Kerr started with Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Quinten Post. Moody is out the rest of the preseason and will be re-evaluated in a week with what the Warriors are calling a strained calf. 

“We’re not too concerned about it. It’s just we’re being careful,” Kerr told reporters in LA. 

The age of the Warriors’ top players already guarantees Kerr will have to be comfortable with multiple combinations and consistently tinker with who his starters are. This was the perfect opportunity for several young Warriors and role players to step up. The score was tied 13-13 when Kerr made his first substitution, bringing Gary Payton II in for Post. 

Golden State’s starting five began the second half together, and came out strong trying to cut down a 17-point deficit. The Lakers’ lead was cut to 10 points with the Warriors outscoring the Lakers 21-14 through the first five and a half minutes of the third quarter when Kerr brought Payton in for Post.

Kuminga’s Highs And Lows

Offense will have to run through Kuminga on nights that Curry and Butler are out. There were moments where he showed he can step up with more responsibility, and others where consistency continues to be a problem.

Kuminga in the first quarter twice took advantage of Dalton Knecht switching onto him in the post. He also had three assists in the first quarter. Then in the second, Kuminga went from getting his ankles crossed on defense to throwing down an explosive dunk that only he can slam left-handed with ease and authority. 

Kuminga in the first half scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and had four assists. His fourth was a dime to Pat Spencer cutting into the paint for a layup. But Kuminga also didn’t have one rebound at halftime, led the Warriors with five turnovers and was a game-low minus-18.

There were highs and lows in Kuminga’s third game of the preseason. Kuminga played 22 minutes and scored an efficient 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He dominated around the rim, but missed his only 2-point shot outside the paint and badly forced one of his three 3-point attempts. 

The process overall has been positive. Kuminga is keeping his eyes up and mostly has been in flow of the offense. He finished with no rebounds, six assists and five turnovers as a minus-10.

Creating Space

Between offseason additions and the development of certain players, Kerr has raved over the space these Warriors can create. He now can have an offense that plays four-out, or even five-out. When at full strength, that is. 

The end of the first quarter saw a unit of Pat Spencer, Will Richard, Payton, Gui Santos and Trayce Jackson-Davis struggle to score with very little spacing. None of those five are considered threats to shoot from long distance. The start of the second quarter also was a struggle. 

That group featured Podziemski, Hield, Kuminga, Santos and Jackson-Davis. Those five give Kerr one surefire 3-point threat in Hield, and a hopeful second with Podziemski. The Warriors as a team in the first half shot 19 percent from three, going 4 of 21. Payton was the only bench player to make a three, and no Warrior made multiple threes. 

They also didn’t attempt a single free throw in the first half, while the Lakers went 13 of 15 at the line.

After making only four 3-pointers in the first half, the Warriors made three in the first two and a half minutes of the third quarter – two by Post and one from Podziemski – and five for the entire quarter. The Warriors made two more threes than the Lakers, 14 to 12, but shot a lowly 32.6 percent, which was far lower than LA’s 44.4 percent clip. Podziemski, Post and LJ Cryer were the only Warriors to make more than one three. 

Richard (1 of 6), Santos (1 of 5) and Spencer (1 of 5) combined to go 3 of 17 on threes.

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Sixers roll out Embiid-Bona frontcourt in Blue-White scrimmage  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Joel Embiid’s in the middle of a new twist to Sixers head coach Nick Nurse’s preseason tinkering.

Embiid featured Sunday in the Sixers’ annual Blue-White scrimmage at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware. And he shared the floor with another big man in Adem Bona. 

Nurse confirmed after the scrimmage that he’s “trying to look at Bona and Joel together.” With Paul George sidelined as he works back from a left knee injury and Trendon Watford out because of right hamstring tightness, it’s not yet clear how the Sixers will divvy up power forward minutes. Two-way contract player Dominick Barlow has played well this preseason and fellow two-way Jabari Walker has also been in the mix. 

Bona is an unconventional option, although Nurse noted his role may not change much alongside Embiid. The 22-year-old stuck almost exclusively to dunks, layups, put-backs and the occasional post-up his rookie year. In contrast, Embiid’s jump shooting and overall array of offensive skills have historically been giant strengths. 

“I think there’s kind of an open position at the four, especially right now with Paul not being quite ready yet,” Nurse said. “There’s a number of guys that we’re trying to work into that spot. … (Bona) is probably going to be more of the five. He’s going to play down toward the basket, rim protect and things like that. There’s certainly some drives and dump-offs to him … that are high-percentage plays. I like that part. He’ll help the rebounding, he’ll help the rim protection. We’ll see how it goes.”’

Bona brought his typical shot swatting to the scrimmage and stared down Johni Broome after denying the rookie a dunk. He’s pleased at the prospect of playing next to Embiid. 

“I think it brings another dynamic to the team,” Bona said. “It’s going to bring a huge amount of size and presence in the paint.” 

While Bona measured a tad over 6-foot-8 without shoes at the NBA draft combine, he indeed plays much bigger. The UCLA product’s wingspan is a shade under 7-4. He posted a 40-inch maximum vertical leap at the combine and sure seems to have added to that. 

Of course, most Sixers projections ride on Embiid’s health. He scrimmaged Sunday, moved smoothly and scored plenty. 

The Sixers have avoided timelines in discussing Embiid’s return from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The scrimmage was his first live action in front of a crowd since Feb. 22. 

“I knew this would be the first time you guys had seen him for a long time,” Nurse said. “I don’t know how many weeks this is now — I’m losing track — but he’s been out there playing. Again, just trying to continue to progress. 

“Today was a good progression day. Lots of running, lots of 5-on-5, lots of early practice stuff, lots of 5-on-0. …  And then he went out there and did his thing. He shot the ball well, he scored well, he orchestrated the offense well. I thought he ran pretty good as well — both directions.”

Bona would love to see all of that translate to games. When the Sixers drafted him, he envisioned frontcourt minutes with Embiid.

“I’ve been working toward that,” he said, “and I’m really excited to see how that’s going to look.”