Warriors' overachieving rookie duo set for intense play-in test

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April 15

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors, under Steve Kerr, have seen it all.

They've had home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, won an NBA record 73 games, bottomed out in a lost 15-win season, lost in the play-in round and made a championship run as the 3-seed.

Yet the situation they currently find themselves in is a new one. Never have the Warriors entered the postseason as a 10-seed, facing the prospect of two single-elimination games on the road to even earn a playoff series. Even while finishing 10 games above .500, Golden State is the lowest-seeded team in the Western Conference playoff bracket.

And since the legendary trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green blossomed, Kerr has never relied so heavily on rookies.

Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis both figure to play at least 20 minutes in Sacramento as key cogs of the Warriors' rotation. They've earned it; Podziemski leads the team in plus-minus and Jackson-Davis' vertical threat on both ends of the court has locked in the team's most cohesive starting lineup.

They went on ESPN last week to stake their claim as the best rookie duo in the NBA this year, and they have a point. They'll get a chance to prove their worth in their first taste of playoff basketball. They'll have to face the brightened spotlight, the intensified games, the more advanced game plans and scouting.

"I would just tell them, 'You guys are ready,'" Andrew Wiggins said. "'You guys proved what you can do all season long, you guys fought like hell all season long. You guys are ready.' We expect them to do the same things they've been doing."

Steve Kerr and multiple players likened the play-in path the Warriors are staring at to the NCAA Tournament. Like in March Madness, the Warriors face a do-or-die game in Sacramento.

Podziemski never played in the NCAA Tournament. His Santa Clara team only qualified for the NIT, and as a freshman at Illinois, he was buried on the bench as the Illini made a mini-run. Around this time last year, Podziemski was watching on television as Steph Curry buried the Kings with his 50-point Game 7.

Podziemski hasn't played a real playoff game since he was in high school in the Milwaukee area. He doesn't look at it that way, though.

"It's magnified more because it's a win-or-go-home game, but at the end of the day, it's basketball just like every other game," Podziemski said.

Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski (2) shoots while Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III (35) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

At Indiana, Jackson-Davis played four NCAA Tournament games in his four-year career. Two of those came last year, and he handled them just fine — the center blocked five shots in each while scoring 24 and 23 points.

Jackson-Davis in particular projects to be crucial in slowing down Kings center Domantas Sabonis. The Kings and Warriors split their four-game regular season series, but Jackson-Davis didn't play real minutes in any of them.

The frontcourt pairing of Draymond Green and Jackson-Davis will be a new wrinkle to throw at Sacramento. Their 99.2 defensive rating as a duo ranks 18th among all two-man combinations who have played at least 200 minutes together.

"Trayce has great length, he's very athletic, and affects a lot of shots on the rim," Green said. "Sabonis does all his damage pretty much within 10-15 feet… When it comes to his scoring, a lot of it is around the rim and Trayce can affect some of those shots. But it starts with positioning, and Sabonis is great at creating angles, got to make sure you're good with your positioning against a guy like that."

Green will likely draw the individual matchup against Sabonis, but Jackson-Davis will have to be active as a help defender along the baseline. In last year's Kings series, Kevon Looney dominated with three games of at least 20 rebounds, so he could also play a bigger factor than he has for much of this regular season.

Then there's De'Aaron Fox, whom the Warriors consider the head of Sacramento's snake. If Gary Payton II remains sidelined with his calf strain, Podziemski could find himself trying to stay in front of Fox at times.

"You've got to show so many bodies at him in transition. When he's making 3s, it's kind of hard to guard. I think in our first game we played in October there, he and Steph kind of went back-and-forth shooting 3s. Just watching that, it's like how do you stop a guy like that? Because he's so explosive to the rim and can shoot."

The Warriors have outscored opponents by 264 points with Podziemski on the floor; he ranks 46th in the NBA in total plus-minus.

In past successful playoff runs, the Warriors have had mid-career players or veterans play heavy minutes around their star core. Guys like Payton, Looney, Otto Porter Jr., Andre Iguodala, Sean Livingston, and Festus Ezeli have filled in gaps on the margins.

Now, that burden will fall on Podziemski, Jackson-Davis and Jonathan Kuminga — who also has limited playoff experience.

"Our roles are pretty defined at this point," Podziemski said of himself and Jackson-Davis. "We know what's being asked of us, what we're supposed to do when we're out there, no matter the lineup, who's where, who's with us. So I think for me and him, it kind of gives us a comfort knowing what our role is, knowing what kind of minutes we're going to get, all those types of things."