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00:00Let's go out to the River Islands guest line and get our buddy Dalton Johnson on NBC Sports
00:04Bay Area all over the Warriors beat and I'm going to put the over-under on 18 and a half
00:12text messages between you and me over the last week and a half in order to make right
00:18now happening.
00:19Does that sound about right, Dalton?
00:22That sounds about right.
00:23That sounds like the life of a beer porter on the road coming home, taking care of a
00:27one-year-old, making it work, so I appreciate you guys finding the time for me right now.
00:32No, and thank you, and we appreciate you doing it.
00:35We were actually, I let everybody know that you were on daddy duty, so let us know, who
00:41is your one-year-old and what are they doing right now?
00:44Jim is doing good, he just finished some lunch up and had a good nap today and we try to
00:50keep the screen time down, but Miss Rachel could be our best friend at times too, like
00:55right now.
00:56Miss Rachel is the GOAT, I have a two-and-a-half-year-old and my daughter will get a healthy dose of
01:02Miss Rachel when need be, Dalton, without a doubt.
01:05That's right, when need be is the right way to say it, that's for sure.
01:09Alright, hey Dalton, first and foremost, what do you know about Jonathan Kaminga, because
01:13that was a weird deal yesterday where they're like, it's the ankle, and then the news comes
01:17out today that no, it's the same thing Steph had, so what do you know?
01:21Right, yeah, I mean, very interesting to see, as you just laid out there, Mark, I mean,
01:26when he first landed, it was just such an awkward land, I mean, he bounced off the hardwood
01:30in San Antonio, kind of like Steph did, but the way he fell where, it's like he went heel
01:35first with both legs, and you're going, okay, well, it seems like this is a Steph thing,
01:42and then when the Warriors announced that he's out with the right ankle soreness, the
01:45same ankle that he missed 31 games for, now I'm getting concerned, of course, because
01:51it's not like Jonathan Kaminga has looked like the same exact player since before the
01:55injury, but it's of course a much different team.
01:57I think, you know, that it must be a positive that it's the right pelvic contusion, not
02:02the right ankle soreness, and he's considered questionable in Memphis, because I thought
02:07for sure if it is going to be an ankle that he might miss some time, and maybe it won't
02:12be any time at all, maybe it'll just be one game, so definitely a positive to see him
02:15questionable with the pelvic contusion compared to that right ankle soreness.
02:20Have we seen enough in Jonathan Kaminga's return to really gauge not only where he is,
02:26but how he's going to fit with Jimmy and Steph and Draymond?
02:29Yeah, as far as where he is and, you know, the short sample, I mean, he's played, what,
02:34like eight, nine games since he's been back.
02:35I don't think it's enough time, but what I do think it is kind of seeing exactly, like,
02:40the best ways to maximize Jonathan Kaminga, the right ways to utilize him, and I thought
02:45the New Orleans game was pretty much like the blueprint, offensively at least, that
02:49there were still times defensively, you know, where you really wanted him to see him step
02:55into that GP2 role, on-ball defender, even bigger, obviously, than GP2, but offensively,
03:01the way he was used as a screener with Steph Curry, that's the easiest way to maximize
03:06the best out of Jonathan Kaminga.
03:08It's not working right now with Jimmy Butler.
03:10It's tough, because it's almost like making two mid-season trades when you bring back
03:14a guy like Jonathan Kaminga, when you bring in a guy like Jimmy Butler, especially the
03:19way JK was rolling before the injury, and they needed him to be that guy at that time.
03:24Get the ball in your hand, go down and get a bucket.
03:27Little bit different right now, of course, with Jimmy Butler here.
03:30Like I said, the eye test shows, the advanced numbers show, it's not working between the
03:34two of them, so I just think the way that Steve Curry used him in New Orleans, the non-Jimmy
03:40minutes, let him be with Steph Curry, you know, use their offset skill sets, you know,
03:46and everything, the way they can complement each other, because I think he had three finishers
03:50at the rim, off of ball screen action, he had four free throws, you know, he was obviously
03:55really efficient that game, he got the seven rebounds, like that, offensively, is the blueprint,
04:01and so I'm not so concerned, I mean, I can have a little concern about the Jimmy and
04:06JK combination, because ideally, top five talent-wise, you'd want to see them close
04:11together.
04:12Right now, though, I'm more focused on, hey, if he fits alongside Steph in this simplest
04:18action, where he can do a quick slip and just run into 16 points, just make it be that.
04:24Let's just simplify it down as easy as possible right now for Jonathan Kaminga.
04:29Dalton Johnson, NBC Sports Barrier, with us.
04:31I would like to dig into that a little bit more, because I think you laid it out perfectly,
04:36that Dalton, if advanced analytics say that Jimmy and JK are not doing well together,
04:44I think that's a pretty big deal, don't you?
04:47Yeah.
04:48Yeah, no, exactly.
04:49Like I said, I mean, talent-wise, when you bring him in, you're thinking that your closing
04:53five is going to be some combination, of course, of Steph, Jimmy, Draymond, and then JK, and
05:02then it'd be kind of that extra, okay, is it going to be Moses Moody, is it going to
05:05be Brandon Podjemski, do you use a little bit of Quinn Post action for that stretch
05:10five?
05:11But you're thinking, again, talent-wise, he's a top four talent, but I mean, I even think,
05:17and I don't want to speak for Steve Kerr by any means, but as far as just closing a game
05:22with making the simple, smart basketball play, I could see him turning to Guy Santos earlier
05:28than he would to Jonathan Kaminga, down the stretch of a game.
05:32So again, it's tough because there's only so much time left.
05:36We know what the standings are.
05:38So I just think that whenever you have them, you just utilize them for what is best right
05:44now.
05:45And you can't worry about the future or anything else like that.
05:47And then once it's playoff time, you got to throw all the egos to the side, and you can't
05:51worry about, well, this was a former top pick, this was here.
05:55If it's not working, take it out.
05:58Go with what's rolling, obviously.
06:00And I think even out loud, Steve Kerr's been saying that.
06:04When GP too, when he first went down to injury recently here, he said out loud, he wants
06:10that to kind of be a blueprint for Jonathan Kaminga as far as defensively, on ball, be
06:17in that dunker spot.
06:18But we know that the defense is still shaky for someone who has all the athleticism in
06:25the world, right?
06:26So yeah, it hasn't been perfect.
06:29It's tough.
06:30Like I said, it almost feels like two midseason trades where you're just trying to make sure
06:35that it's not a round hole, a round peg in a square hole or anything like that, because
06:41time is not on their side or on Jonathan Kaminga's side right now.
06:45Well, in the meantime, you mentioned Guy Santos is a guy who likely will get increased minutes.
06:50If Kaminga's unable to go against Memphis, what kind of a lineup do they put out there
06:54to contend with a pretty athletic and a long Memphis team?
06:58That's a great question.
07:01And I think that you're really seeing the way that someone like Moses Moody has had
07:04so much more responsibility defensively and taken to that.
07:08I mean, we saw back to back possessions, right?
07:11This last game where he put the clamps on Harrison Barnes, he's done it against big
07:16time names like Kate Cunningham.
07:18I remember that in the first half where I think Kate Cunningham, that game only had
07:21seven points at halftime.
07:23So I look at someone like Moses, who isn't quite the explosive athlete that Jonathan
07:30Kaminga is, but he uses his length so well and he's just got into big time scores, both
07:36guards and wings so well recently.
07:39I think that that was kind of part of the reason his three point shot, though, has slipped
07:44a little bit because he's had so much defensive responsibility.
07:47That's why I do think that with a take care of business, get right game like it was in
07:51San Antonio, why it was so huge for Moses Moody and Brandon Pudzemski to find that three
07:58point stroke and just be confident with their shot.
08:01Because really, like behind the top three, Brandon Pudzemski might be the team's most
08:06important player because he has the ball in his hand so much.
08:11He is the backcourt mate to Steph Curry.
08:14Teams are going to challenge him to shoot the ball, not expecting him to go seven of
08:19nine from three every game.
08:21So those two youngsters having that kind of game in a get right game, I think, I think
08:26can really, you know, gain the kind of momentum for this four game gauntlet coming up.
08:30Dalton, I'm going to say this right up front.
08:34I hate the question I'm about to ask you.
08:37Here we go.
08:38I hate it.
08:39I hate it.
08:40I hate it.
08:41I hate it that we're here largely because I'd like to stay in the moment with regard
08:46to a very, very exciting week.
08:49When you say that Jonathan Kuminga and Jimmy Butler, at least to this point, are having
08:54a hard time playing together, my man, what does that mean for the future?
09:01And that's the question, right?
09:02I mean, that's kind of the, what do we want to call it, the 20, 25, 30, $35 million question,
09:08whatever it might be.
09:09We know that that market has really fluctuated this season.
09:13And that's what has to be tough for someone who's 22 years old, former top pick, feels
09:18like in year four, he's ready for that kind of leap and he's shown flashes of that leap.
09:24But also in year four, you should feel so confident and comfortable with a player that
09:28has that kind of potential to close out important games.
09:32And I just don't know if that trust is fully there right now, you know, especially coming
09:36back from the injury.
09:38So it's tough, you know, I mean, I know that they're obviously doing everything they can
09:43to stay in that moment.
09:45And I'm sure that their message to Jonathan Kamingo when he's healthy and, you know, God
09:49willing that he's able to play against the Grizzlies is to just make sure that he's staying
09:53in the moment the best he can too, right?
09:55He can't go out there trying to play for a contract every game, every second, every sequence,
10:01or else it's just going to tumble worse and he's going to hurt his market value and he's
10:05going to hurt the Warriors as well.
10:07So I think for them, yeah, like they're really going to have to do everything they can to
10:11focus on the now.
10:13And if that means, you know, a game where Jonathan Kamingo only plays 16 minutes, so
10:18be it.
10:19If it means if it's a game where his athleticism is really shining, and he's able to go power
10:24on power, which is going to be huge at times in a playoff series, and all of a sudden he
10:29runs into a 25-30 point efficient night, great.
10:32But I think that it's going to come down to right now, Steve Kerr really kind of seeing,
10:38you know, the integrity of the game and being able to take him out or ride the hot hand
10:43as long as needed with Jonathan Kamingo.
10:45It's such a gentle and a tricky sort of dance that you have to do with a young player, as
10:50you were mentioning, a guy who's chasing the contract, yet winning has to be at the forefront.
10:56When you look at Moody and Podds of late, especially on this road trip, what sort of
11:01growth and confidence have you seen from those two in particular this year?
11:05Well, I really do go to the defensive side because, yeah, like the shot has been streaky
11:12for both of them, you know, and I think that they've shown at times, though, that, like,
11:17we can trust the shot like further and further along.
11:20I still think Brandon Pugenski's shot is going to play the longer he gets in his career,
11:24and especially for a guy that you know is going to get those hustle type of plays, he's
11:28going to run into, you know, five, six rebounds, he sees the floor so well.
11:33But his defense has just gotten better because help side defense, I think that he had times
11:39as a rookie that like, he really stood out like that he might have been like the smartest,
11:43you know, off ball defender since Draymond, but he also like really went over aggressive
11:48at times and it hurt him as someone who's not a mega athlete.
11:52But I think he they've both really taken on the challenge.
11:55It feels like in the last month, two months, as far as that side of the ball.
12:00So I really want to see, you know, a Brandon Pugenski playing against a John Morant this
12:06next game, because what different kind of players, what different kind of athletes and
12:10for BP, it's all about doing everything he can to keep an athlete like John Morant in
12:16front best he can, knowing that now behind him, he has both Draymond and Jimmy.
12:21And I think that that has instilled confidence in both of those young guys is knowing that,
12:26okay, behind me, I got two dogs that are ready to scare off anybody and Draymond and
12:31Jimmy Butler.
12:32So I think that that's been huge for them, is just that confidence defensively, knowing
12:36that if they have them behind, that they can do everything in their power to just exert
12:41as much, you know, effort to just do whatever they can to slow down that big time score
12:47because they don't want to mess with Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler.
12:50Dalton Johnson, NBC Sports Bay Area joining us on Withered and Dibs.
12:54Dalton, especially because you've been around the team a lot off and on here the last couple
12:59of weeks.
13:00I just wonder what your read is, your temperature check on their readiness for this week, because
13:08bottom line, they've been so much better with Jimmy Butler.
13:12They have not really had the opportunity to, but they have not yet beaten a Western Conference
13:18playoff team.
13:19And now they get four of them in a row.
13:22Are they ready for this?
13:24Yeah, and I think that that's why you bring in Jimmy Butler, because you trust that that's
13:30the kind of guy that is going to be ready for this and is going to be a leader like
13:34Steph Curry, like Draymond Green, where everyone else can follow behind and be like, hey, lead
13:39us to battle, put on the shield, let's get the armor going, because we're ready for any
13:45kind of battle in front of us.
13:47Because he's been there, obviously we know what he did in Miami with the kind of talent
13:52around him that he had.
13:54And I think it's just going to be great for this team that it gets to go down to possibly
13:57the final day, but this next week is going to decide the standings.
14:01They can go as high as four, they can go back to eight.
14:04Who knows?
14:05It's up to them.
14:06I think that they have to win three out of these next four games.
14:09It's going to be big time, it's a big time ask for a team like this, especially being
14:14on the road for 14 days and you have the backs back against the Lakers and the Nuggets.
14:19That's tough, obviously, right?
14:22But I do think that, yeah, we've seen this team play down to competition, and now we
14:28really want to see them play up to competition, having Steph Curry, having Jimmy Boehler,
14:33having Draymond Green.
14:34That's what this big three is here for, is real veterans who have been there and done
14:39that.
14:40So I'm super excited because I feel like this is when those three, especially, their antennas
14:46just go up and they're buzzing like, this is the meaningful basketball that they've
14:51been begging for all season long.
14:53Yeah, that's an interesting way to look at it, and so maybe we do get the best of them.
14:57Dalton, thank you so much.
14:59Everything's okay over there?
15:00One year old still good?
15:01Oh yeah.
15:02Okay.
15:03Happy little one, we can't complain.
15:04Okay, perfect.
15:05Perfect.
15:06You can always, I mean, maybe it's a little too young, but you know, just dip a little,
15:11like one dollop of wine in the milk.
15:13Yeah, just a little bit.
15:14Yeah, just when you need that extra nap.
15:18Yeah.
15:19You got that right.
15:20Yeah, no, I'm kidding.
15:21I'm kidding.
15:22Okay, Dalton.
15:23We're out here in wine country.
15:24We know all the tricks.
15:25Perfect, nice.
15:26Thanks, Dalton.
15:27Appreciate it.
15:28Thanks, guys.