PHILADELPHIA -- While the Warriors held their collective breath Wednesday from Steph Curry's left shoulder injury in their loss to the Indianapolis Pacers, former No. 2 overall draft pick James Wiseman was back in El Segundo, Calif., playing his 10th G League game this season with Golden State's Santa Cruz affiliate. Wiseman scored 31 points in 34 minutes for the Sea Dubs, going 12-for-17 from the field.
Wiseman, along with rookie Ryan Rollins, was then recalled by the Warriors on Thursday. They took a red-eye flight to Philadelphia to meet the big squad, and Steve Kerr called Wiseman's number for the first time with nine minutes to go in the second quarter and the Warriors up by five points. Two minutes later, Wiseman grabbed his first rebound of the night but committed a tough turnover by throwing the ball out of bounds on an errant pass intended for Jonathan Kuminga. Wiseman's frustrations with himself were clear, but not from his coaches or teammates.
Kerr immediately clapped and told Wiseman it's OK, doing what he can to keep the 21-year-old's spirits high. As players walked to their respective benches from a 76ers timeout, Kuminga gave Wiseman a thumb up, waited for him and gave him a high five. Wiseman has all the outside pressure in the world on him, and the Warriors know how important building his confidence is right now.
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Following the Warriors' 118-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, Wiseman's confidence should be on the rise. Kerr and Wiseman's teammates certainly expressed their happiness with him after a defeat in which they were without Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green.
One play in particular earned a massive fist pump, big smile and proud high five from Kerr to Wiseman after a timeout from a frustrated Doc Rivers.
Throw it up and let him throw it down. That's what Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo did in the fourth quarter, with Wiseman throwing down a ferocious alley-oop on Georges Niang.
"Just the ball movement and the action," Kerr said when asked what he liked most from the highlight-reel play.
Though Wiseman and fellow center Kevon Looney, who finished one assist shy of a triple-double with a career-high nine assists, play very different styles, DiVincenzo reminded Wiseman early on about what a great screen-setter Looney is. The message clearly resonated with the young 7-footer.
Golden State Warriors
"I told him to just come in there, set a hard screen and you'll be open," DiVincenzo said. "[Jordan Poole] found him in the first half for a big dunk. Second half, I found him on the lob and he's always telling me, 'Throw it up and I'll go get it.'
"That's exactly what he did. Honestly, that builds confidence in the guards to know when you throw kind of a risky pass up in the air in traffic, he's going to go get it. Just keep building off that for him. Whatever minutes he's getting, just be solid and Loon will get him."
In his 12th NBA game this season, and only second since in the last month, Wiseman played 11 minutes off the bench. He scored six points with two big dunks and a drained a smooth jump shot.
Wiseman started the fourth quarter with the Warriors down by seven. On both side of the ball, he had several strong stretches. Wiseman was moving his feet well, and his development from more attention in the G League was evident.
After the loss, Kerr announced Wiseman will remain with the Warriors for the remainder of their road trip, which still features games in Toronto and two in New York. His first appearance of the trip was one to be excited about.
"I thought James did a really nice job on both ends tonight," Kerr said. "He got to the dunker, he made himself available. They had several plays where they just stayed back with him and we got open threes early in the fourth when we put him out there. We had three or four open threes and one of the reasons they were open is because James was right at the rim and as that lob threat, the defense pulled in. And I thought he did a nice job defensively, too, kind of playing cat and mouse on pick-and-roll.
"He's gotten a lot better over the last few weeks with all the practicing in Santa Cruz and the game action, the reps. It was fun to watch James play."
What was evident in Wiseman's performance is what the Warriors hoped they had from him early in the season. On a roster that features Curry, Poole, Wiggins and Klay Thompson, the Warriors always will be known for catching fire from long distance. DiVincenzo was the one who looked the latest Splash Brother early on, making five 3-pointers in the third quarter.
But Wiseman changes things up, and as Kerr said, can open the floor as well. He's a clear lob threat, one who gives a scary changeup to the opposing defense.
How does that help guards like Poole and DiVincenzo, and what's the adjustment there? Here's what they said when I asked that exact question.
"It changes on that weakside," DiVincenzo said. "[The defense] has to sink in and all of the sudden you have the weakside open for a three. And it's a different look from Loon. A lot of times, Loon is getting hit in the pocket and he's making a lot of plays. But I think with James since he's so big and athletic, just getting him in front of the rim ... they need to help, they need to send a second defender and sink in.
"It allows our guards to find the weakside."
Poole added, "He’s just an extra option whenever we’re driving to the basket or when we’re in pick-and-roll. He takes up so much space in the paint, and being able to have a target above the rim is huge."
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Assessing Wiseman is all about small wins right now. There always will be something to work on, and he of course wants the score to be on the Warriors' side next time.
Falling to 14-16 on the season and 2-14 on the road, the Warriors badly need to start collecting wins, all while being without Curry for the time being. On a night where the Warriors fell short again, Wiseman looked the part of a winning player in many cases.