Why TJD thinks Warriors’ bench ball gives an advantage originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
LAIE, Hawaii – Steph Curry has heard it for years. So did Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, countless other Warriors and even their head coach Steve Kerr. The same consensus sentiment is heard again around the basketball world: The Warriors are too small.
center Trayce Jackson-Davis heard the noise last season as a rookie as well, but he didn’t mind it then and he doesn’t think about it now.
“It is what it is,” Jackson-Davis said in an exclusive “Dubs Talk” interview that will be released Saturday night. “I feel like you can say that about us, but at the end of the day I’m pretty sure we led the league in rebounds last year. Being small you also have an advantage because it means you can play fast and that’s something coach Kerr really emphasizes on – transition.
“He said if we can get our transition down on both ends of the floor, we’re going to be a really, really good team.”
Despite 6-foot-10 Dario Saric, who was the Warriors’ tallest player last season, and wasn’t someone known for crashing the glass, they did. lead the entire NBA in rebounds at 46.7 per game. That’s still a primary goal, but it’s not to downplay how much Kerr and the coaching staff stress the importance of getting out and running, pushing the tempo and getting back on defense.
The Warriors were one of the worst teams in the league last year in transition, both offensively and defensively. Jackson-Davis, on the other hand, is an ideal frontcourt player for improvements in those areas as a 6-foot-9 small big man who is not a sprinter, but has a set of feet well enough for Kerr’s ideal two-way player.
After Jackson-Davis was inserted into the starting lineup for the final month of his rookie season, the Warriors were a different team, especially defensively. Kerr hasn’t had an edge rusher and edge protector like Jackson-Davis since JaVale McGee, and the former is much younger than when the latter was a Warrior.
As the second-last choice in the 2023 NBA DraftJackson-Davis hit 76 shots to lead the Warriors in blocks, becoming the first to do so for the team as a rookie since Festus Ezeli had 74 in the 2012-13 season. He had 20 games with multiple blocked shots, making him the first Warriors rookie to hit that mark since Ekpe Udoh had 24 such games in 2010-11, and his four double-doubles off the bench were the most for a Warriors rookie in reserve in reserve. 36 years.
Now, Kerr is pushing Jackson-Davis to play with even more force after knowing what the NBA game feels like.
“Honestly, just being more aggressive,” Jackson-Davis said. “Pulling my spots when the offense is going, knowing when to keep the ball, making plays, just trying to take the load off of Steph and Draymond, guys like that.
“At the end of the day, it’s just being more aggressive on offense. Trying to apply that when playing with Steph, [Brandin Podziemski]guys like that who will have the majority of the ball and handle it. Just pick the right places to attack.”
In Las Vegas, Jackson-Davis had the perfect opportunity of different yardsticks to see where that aggressiveness can come out best defensively and offensively. First, he was challenged against the likes of stars like Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo as member of the USA Basketball Men’s Select Teamand then was able to pair with Podziemski as the go-to guys in some summer league games as well. His experience against Team USA gave Jackson-Davis a lot of confidence in himself and it has already translated into training camp in Hawaii.
Behind Curry, there’s no way to know who the Warriors’ second leading scorer will be. On some nights it will be Andrew Wiggins, on others it could be Jonathan Kuminga, Podziemski or someone else. Kerr wouldn’t be at all surprised if Jackson-Davis had big scoring nights as well.
He’s not one to post videos to social media showing off his workouts to the world for likes. Jackson-Davis is naturally reserved and ready to show all the back hours he’s spent with the Warriors’ performance getting stronger and faster, ready to take the next step because Kerr confidently knows he’s already headed in the right direction. .
“Trying to just build off the end of the year that I had last season,” Jackson-Davis said. “It’s in full swing now, and I’m hoping all the work I’ve put in will pay off.”
Power is produced when speed and strength come together, and that’s the exact equation Jackson-Davis is ready to show after a very productive debut season with the Warriors.
