Young Warriors Moses Moody and Patrick Baldwin Jr. showed some promise in Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s too bad that their contributions came in garbage time, as the fourth quarter was just an exhibition during the 124-111 Lakers victory.
On social media, much of the discussion centered around two-way players like Ty Jerome and Anthony Lamb getting minutes instead of the young Golden State lottery picks.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr joined 95.7 The Game on Friday afternoon before the team’s game against the Houston Rockets, to explain why Jerome and Lamb have been higher in the rotation.
“Some of it is positional,” Kerr told hosts Whitey Gleason and Larry Krueger. “Ty Jerome is the most traditional point guard on our team. His assist-to-turnover ratio is off the charts. When he goes in, the game settles down. He gets us into our offense, he gets the ball moving. He’s got a beautiful pick-and-roll game, that floater in the lane. The game just calms down when he’s out there. With Steph out, we desperately need Ty’s capability at point guard.”
While Kevon Looney actually leads the Warriors with a 5.14 assist-to-turnover ratio (shoutout to Loon) but Jerome is tops among actual ballhandlers with his impressive 4.32 ratio. He scored 20 points in 30 minutes of action on Thursday, falling two points shy of his season-high, while suiting up for his 40th game this season.
Two-way contracts allow for players to suit up for 50 NBA games per season. Lamb is up to 44 games played with 23 contests remaining.
“With Lamb, he’s the one guy who can play the 4 position and really stretch the floor,” Kerr said. “He had a tough shooting night last night, but this guy shot 40 percent from 3 for the year. He makes plays off the dribble, he’s an excellent passer and he’s got a big strong body capable of standing up to people who are attacking him. Both guys have experience. They make a lot of the little plays that fans probably don’t quite recognize.”
While Baldwin, listed at 6-foot-9, 220, seems like he could be a solid stretch four, he still finds himself behind Lamb for now. The No. 28 overall pick hit three 3-pointers en route to 11 points on Thursday. Moody is expected to pick up more minutes going forward, according to Kerr's pre-game press conference Friday.
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