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Warriors' unselfish offense, better shooting depth compared to Kings – NBC Sports Bay Area & California


Warriors' unselfish offense, better shooting depth compared to Kings – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

A familiar yet revamped style of Warriors basketball was on display Wednesday night in Golden State's 122-112 preseason win over the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center.

Five different Warriors players scored in double figures while the team made an astonishing 28 3-pointers, which would have tied a franchise record in a regular-season game.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr then shared his first impressions of the team in two preseason games.

“What I like about this team is that I think, even though we lost Klay (Thompson), we have more shooting depth,” Kerr told reporters. “I think we have more guys that can step in from one night to the next and make threes, so it's going to be a big part of our team for sure.”

New Warriors guard Buddy Hield, who shot 6 of 7 from 3-point range, had one word to describe how the offense performed Wednesday.

“Unselfish. Guys read and react,” Hield told reporters. “People like (Brandin Podziemski) who distribute the ball. We had Draymond (Green) playing unselfishly. I think it just trickles down from Steve (Kerr) preaching every day about being selfless and playing the right basketball, the right way.” read.”

Podziemski, a natural point guard who is one of the top candidates for the shooting guard position alongside Steph Curry this season, scored a point in the second half and finished the game with a game-high eight assists.

“My job as a point guard is to get everyone involved,” Podziemski said. “Obviously Jonathan (Kuminga) had a slow start so I focused on getting him and (Kyle Anderson) the ball and luckily they took a few shots when I passed the ball to them. But I was just doing my job out there.”

Kuminga, the fourth-year forward who broke out last season, was pushed by the Warriors' coaching staff to improve as a 3-point shooter this offseason, and he's shooting 4 of 9 (44 percent) in two preseason games the distance.

“I worked on it all summer and I’m still working on it,” Kuminga said. “I only take the ones that are open, I take the better ones with my feet planted because I know I can do them. So I don't think too much about taking them. … The coach wanted me to take them. The ones who are open and don't think about it, because the more you don't think about it, the more you do it. That's just my goal.

The unselfish nature of a deeper Warriors offense was clear to see, and while questions still need to be answered – particularly about the starting lineup and bench rotations – it appears Golden State has the wherewithal to improve this season.

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