Kurtenbach: Three keys to the Warriors’ 2021-22 season besides Klay
Thompson’s return
Golden State Warriors: Klay Thompson's return is key, but these other
storylines will also define how Steph Curry's Warriors will finish in a
packed Western Conference
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 8: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) talks with Jordan Poole (3) during a timeout in the second
quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers in a NBA game at Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News
Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 8: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) talks with Jordan Poole (3) during a timeout in the second
quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers in a NBA game at Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News
Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: October 19, 2021 at 2:15 p.m. | UPDATED: October 19, 2021 at
2:48 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/10/19/kurtenbach-three-non-klay-keys-to-the-warriors-2021-22-season/

The biggest storyline to the Warriors’ 2021-2022 season is obvious: the
return of Klay Thompson.

When will Klay return? What will he be able to do when he does?

Thompson’s legs — injured the last two seasons — will define the Dubs’
season.

But there’s more at play for Golden State.

Here are three other keys — low keys, if you will — that will shed light
on the Warriors’ campaign:

- The Wiseman in the middle

>(Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group)

What was arguably the biggest story of the truncated 2020-21 season has
been relegated to an afterthought this season. That’s a good problem to
have — especially if you’re sophomore center James Wiseman.

The Warriors revamped their coaching staff and Dejan Milojevic was
brought in to, ostensibly, work with Wiseman.

The Serbian specialist has worked with the likes of 2020-21 MVP Nikola
Jokic and Ivica Zubac. The Warriors don’t need MVP-level performance
from Wiseman — though they won’t turn it down in the future — competence
would play.

Wiseman has all the talent a 7-foot-1 frame can hold. Before his knee
injury, he could run as gracefully as a guard and boasted incredible
leaping ability. He has a sweet jumper and underrated ball-handling
skills. The sky is the limit for the Memphis product.

But without more lower-body strength and some low-post moves, all that
big-time, big-man talent could well go to waste. That’s why Milojevic is
here.

Wiseman is working back from his torn meniscus — there’s no timeframe on
his return but expectations are that he’ll be back before Klay Thompson.
In the meantime, he’s working with Milojevic and early returns are good.

The Warriors will need Wiseman. Perhaps not immediately, but certainly
as the games become more important in the final weeks of the season.
Golden State lacks a true center on its roster outside of Wiseman. Top
centers in the West — Jokic, Zubac, Rudy Gobert, and Jusuf Nurkic —
could prove problematic for Golden State without useful size.

Wiseman can bide his time, but his time will come this season. Whether
he makes the most of it — whether the Warriors and his investment pay
off — will go a long way in defining Golden State’s campaign.

- Is Jordan Poole for real?

>(Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

>RELATED ARTICLES
Warriors’ depth, showcased in opener, reminds Kerr of title teams
Update: Chase Center deemed up to code after tragic Phish concert
Warriors 3 Things: Golden State set a tone for the season in an
impressive win vs. LeBron and the Lakers
Sum of Warriors’ parts is greater than Lakers’ star power in
season-opening win
How Warriors rookie Moses Moody is approaching his first NBA game

The Warriors’ reserve guard had a strong end to last season. Following a
demotion to the G League, he returned to the Warriors and in his final
13 regular-season games averaged 14.3 points per game (27 minutes per
contest) with an effective field goal rate of 59.

Those are good numbers for Poole.

Well, they were good numbers.

It’s only preseason, but how can you not notice that the former
first-round pick (No. 28 in 2019) averaged 22 points per game in 22
minutes per exhibition contest, shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc?

Those are CJ McCollum numbers.

That’s a step-change, folks — a dramatic one of a nearly existential nature.

At the very least, the Warriors can count on Poole to be a second option
to create off the dribble behind Curry. That’s massive — they did not
have one of those last season until Poole’s return from the G League bubble.

And the Dubs know that Poole can start while Thompson is out of the
lineup. That’s good, too.

If the Poole we saw in the preseason is the real Poole — remember, he
was playing against other team’s top players during those contests —
then it’s fair to wonder if he’s a borderline All-Star this season.

And if he’s playing at that level, the calculous for the Warriors
completely changes.

There’s no effective way to predict what will happen with Poole this
year because no one predicted he’d be so good in the preseason. There’s
also no effective coefficient for calculating the difference between
preseason and regular-season performance.

No, all the Dubs can do is wait and see.

But how Poole plays when the games count in the standings will tell us
so much about how Golden State will finish in those standings at the end
of the year.

- Pop-a-shot

>(AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Warriors coach Steve Kerr seems like a new man this season, so much so
that Dubs fans are referring to him as Steve 2.0.

Gone are the ideological standards of the Warriors’ dynastic days. They
worked, but the game has evolved further. In comes a free-wheeling style
of smallball.

And at the core of the team’s offensive identity is the 3-point shot.

Kerr had been reluctant to have his teams shoot 3-pointers for the sake
of shooting 3-pointers in the past — a luxury you could get away with
because Steph Curry was on the team and he’s the greatest shooter to
ever step on a basketball court.

But the sheer volume of 3s being shot in the league these days was such
that the Dubs couldn’t put principle over pragmatism.

So Kerr’s message has been simple this preseason: Let it fly.

The Dubs players had no problem obliging.

Golden State led the NBA in 3-pointers attempted in the preseason,
putting up an astounding 53 per game. That’s seven more than the
next-highest team this exhibition season and 10 more than last year’s
regular-season leaders, the Jazz.

The Warriors are able to shoot more 3-pointers because their spacing is
eons better than it was last season. Smallball creates separation and
Curry does the rest.

Will they lead the league in 3-point attempts this regular season? Perhaps.

But they’ll be near the top of the league, and that’s progress.