Everybody loves Belly.
Steph Curry cobbled together a “trash” triple-double and Jordan Poole elevated his game on the national stage Tuesday night in the Warriors’ 121-114 season-opening win against the Los Angeles Lakers. But Nemanja Bjelica (aka "Belly") also had Dub Nation buzzing following his 15-point, 11-rebound, four-assist debut.
Draymond Green couldn’t help but notice Bjelica’s plus-20 in the plus-minus stat column as well.
In his 26 minutes of work, Bjelica proved he is much more than a rangy spot-up shooter. Bjelica brought the ball up the court to initiate the offense and did a great job of creating his own shot off the dribble while showing off smooth passing skills . The 33-year-old looked remarkably fluid for his 6-foot-10 frame.
“For his shooting ability, guys are really running him off the [3-point] line,” Green said. “For him to have the ability to put the ball on the floor like that and kick out, that was huge. Because he made a lot of plays tonight for himself, for other guys.”
Bjelica also appears to have earned the trust of coach Steve Kerr. Bjelica entered the game to start the fourth quarter with the Warriors trailing by two points. He stayed on the floor with the closing group until there were 42 seconds left on the clock and the Warriors leading by 10.
“He’s mentioned to our staff so much, how much he’s enjoying playing with our team,” Kerr said. “Because he’s just playing the game and not being pigeonholed as a specialist.”
Listen to Bay Area sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Warriors team gear
While Bjelica and fellow veteran minimum free-agent signee Otto Porter Jr. are often talked about in the same sentence (ahem), Bjelica is clearly ahead of Porter when it comes to the current rotation. Porter played seven of his 12 minutes in the fourth quarter but only went 1-for-3 for five points in his debut.
The Warriors are stocked with quality ball handlers this season between Bjelica and Andre Iguodala on the second unit, Jordan Poole getting staggered minutes with Steph Curry, and Green, who totaled six assists Tuesday night. Perhaps it is no surprise they racked up 30 dimes on 41 buckets, which is on pace with their mark of 29.8 per game in the preseason to lead the NBA.
Since Kerr took over the Warriors before the 2014-15 season, Golden State has led the league in assists in six of seven seasons, the lone outlier coming during the dismal 2019-20 campaign. Ball movement is a staple of Kerr’s offenses and we got a glimpse of how valuable Bjelica’s versatility can be in the opener.
