What We Learned as Waters Takes Center Stage of Warriors' Preseason Victory

There have been over two hundred and thirty five reports filed to date under “Want to know about WTA? Just click here and register!”. Similarly, WTA (World Traveller Association) also published reports detailing WTC-related complications as recently as in 2015. What We Learned as Lindy Waters Plays Hero for Warriors Preseason Win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay AreaBOX SCOREHONOLULU, Hawaii-After four days of training camp at BYU-Hawaii, the Warriors traveled over to University of Hawaii on Saturday for their preseason opener and delivered fireworks in beating Los Angeles Clippers 91-90 with Lindy Waters III’s game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-Pointer as game winner. “What an incredible way to end a fantastic week!” coach Steve Kerr exclaimed after their win. The Warriors shot 37.3 percent from the floor during the first two quarters while only shooting 20 percent (5 of 25) behind 3-point line during halftime – leaving Waters as their only consistent shooter on display. As the game went along, their numbers worsened further: overall they shot 33.7 percent from three and 22.9 from all fields overall (11 of 48). Steph Curry only played 14 minutes total throughout both halves combined – not giving fans what they came for! Curry led the Warriors with nine points in the opening half despite shooting 2-for-8 and missing all four 3-point attempts he attempted. At free throw line, however, Curry shot 5-of-5 making up for any deficiencies at shooting or 3-point attempts. As they strive to become one of the premier defense squads again, there were glimpses of it during spurts of play by both Curry and Stephen Jackson’s Warriors defense. By halftime, the Warriors already had nine steals and 20 points off 14 Clippers turnovers. They achieved 14 steals and seven blocked shots while holding the Clippers to 38.5-percent shooting and 22.9 percent 3-point accuracy. Lindy Waters stood out as their hero by hitting five 3-pointers — four coming during the fourth quarter alone! De’Anthony Melton offered praise: “Man, shout out to Lindy Waters.” Lindy knew from the outset he would hit some big shots tonight; I told him I needed at least four threes tonight; Lindy came out shooting, and I’m proud of him.” Kerr added: “Lindy is not only a fantastic shooter; he also boasts impressive size…. Lindy showed us just why his game should not be judged solely based on shooting ability alone.” As evidenced on his last attempt, he is an excellent shooter off movement while understanding the game well – we couldn’t be happier to welcome him to our roster.” We remember fondly from past encounters playing against him: we like what we see now.” Mike Dunleavy did an outstanding job of finding and trading for Draymond Green; he certainly has all of the attributes necessary to play our style of basketball. “Here are three takeaways from an incredible start for Kerr and the Warriors’ preseason slate: Starting LineupAll week long, Kerr kept quiet regarding who would start in place of Andrew Wiggins due to ongoing illness issues. On Saturday, Wiggins donned a mask and watched from the sidelines as his Warriors won against the Clippers. When the Warriors practiced Friday and featured Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green all in one group it appeared like that could become their starting five lineup on court. Kerr cautioned reporters not to make assumptions, and his words proved accurate: The starting five consisted of Stephen Curry, Stephen Melton, Kyle Kuminga, Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis; results weren’t stellar according to Kerr; “Not great but preseason for everyone”. “Our offense did not start off very strong; however, the five guys on the floor gave us time to see how this should play out. Kerr made two substitutions as Melton scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting while Green, like Curry and Melton did not play any second half, had two points, two steals, one rebound assist as well as three turnovers and fouls.” Kuminga led the Warriors with seven rebounds and scored seven points – an outstanding effort! Jackson-Davis contributed four points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal, but was the only starter with a negative plus/minus (minus-2). While Kerr sees Kuminga (whose plus-4 led all starters ) more as a power forward than small forward, he says that will continue experimenting alongside Green and Jackson-Davis for now. Kerr said the team wants to continue exploring it: “Yeah, we want to keep looking at it,” noting all three players possess significant talent that needs to work well together for it to work smoothly; therefore we will keep trying combinations until something clicks.” When first coming off the bench it wasn’t just one or two who came on but instead five total newcomers. That second unit featured Podziemski, Gary Payton II, Hield Kyle Anderson and Kevon Looney. As soon as Looney entered, he blocked a shot, sparking an immediate five-goal run to tie up the game and take an initial 26-23 advantage at quarter’s end. “Looney steps right in and immediately does what he always does,” Kerr observed. “He just makes things happen – no headline-grabbing plays here; setting screens or helping on defense. However, his efforts help you win.” To open up the second half, Kerr went with Hield, Moody, Kuminga and Jackson-Davis on his starting five. That was the goal of training camp and preseason: finding out who fits together best. “There were so many combinations out there,” Kerr stated, noting how defensive activity from Gary Melton impressed her and also Melton/BP were notable contributors. Moody Makes His CaseThe preseason opener provided Moody an opportunity to demonstrate both how numbers play into his hand as well as force Kerr into taking more aggressive stance. Moody scored eight first-half points despite missing almost the entirety of the opening quarter, second only to Curry. Ervin ended with 12 points in 13 minutes on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and converted one out of his five 3-point attempts, notching four offensive rebounds (three were offensive), two steals, one assist and a block for an impressive plus-14 rating in game action. What particularly pleased Kerr about Moody’s play was seeing him make quick decisions and shoot without hesitation — areas which Kerr has previously highlighted as essential factors to Moody’s development. “He’s done an outstanding job in camp of getting his shot off quickly and making that his top priority,” Kerr noted. “He’s an extremely gifted shooter; now is where his career stands; where closeout is not an issue as much compared to earlier on in his career when it was more hesitant. ” “He definitely makes the offense run more efficiently when he just catches and shoots, which has been his style all week,” Stephenson stated. Next for the Warriors is an important matchup against Sacramento on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center; download and subscribe to Dubs Talk Podcast to stay informed!