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    • Lindy Waters plays heroine in first preseason win – NBC Sports Bay Area & California
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    Lindy Waters plays heroine in first preseason win – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

    Idris Bevan Posted on

    BOX score

    HONOLULU – After four days of training camp at BYU-Hawaii, the Warriors ventured to the University of Hawaii on Saturday night and brought fireworks to the opening game of the NBA preseason, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 91-1 on a 3-pointer. 90 defeated Lindy Waters III.

    “What a great end to a great week,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the win.

    Outside of Waters, shooting wasn’t the Warriors’ strength. With a 53-49 halftime lead, they shot 37.3 percent from the field and just 20 percent (5 of 25) from behind the 3-point line in the first two quarters. The numbers also deteriorated as the game progressed. Overall, the Warriors shot 33.7 percent from the field and 22.9 percent from three (11 of 48).

    Steph Curry, who sat the entire second half and played a total of 14 minutes, couldn’t give fans the kind of show they wanted to see. He scored nine points to lead the Warriors in the first half, but was 2 of 8 shooting and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. Curry was a perfect 5 of 5 at the free throw line.

    The Warriors are striving to become a top defensive team again, and there have been times. By halftime, they had already had nine steals and scored 20 points off 14 turnovers by the Clippers. They finished the game with 14 steals and seven blocked shots and held the Clippers to a shooting percentage of 38.5 percent and a shooting percentage of 22.9 percent.

    Waters was the hero of the day, hitting five 3-pointers, including four in the fourth quarter.

    “Man, call Lindy Waters,” Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton said. “From the jump I knew Lindy was going to make some big shots tonight. I told him I needed at least four threesomes tonight. … Lindy came out shooting and I’m proud of him.”

    Kerr added: “He’s a really good shooter, but he’s more than just a shooter. He’s got good size, he’s not just a spot-up guy. As you saw in the last picture, he was unhinged. So he’s a good shot player, but he also understands the game well. We’re really excited to have him.

    “We used to like him when we played against him. (Warriors general manager) Mike (Dunleavy) did a great job finding him and trading for him. He definitely has the skills to play our style.”

    Here are three takeaways from an exciting first win of the Warriors’ preseason.

    Begins align

    Throughout the week, Kerr gave no hint as to who would start in the preseason opener if Andrew Wiggins is out as he continues to be unwell. Wiggins wore a mask and stood on the sideline during the Warriors’ win on Saturday.

    When the Warriors squared off on Friday and had a group that included Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green, it looked like those could be the first five on the court. Kerr then warned reporters not to assume anything, and it turns out he wasn’t joking.

    The starting five were Curry, Melton, Kuminga, Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis. The early results weren’t great.

    “Not great, but it’s preseason for everyone,” Kerr said. “We didn’t really have a good rhythm at the end – slow start. But it’s still nice to get these five guys on stage and see what it looks like.”

    They played together for the first seven minutes and found themselves in a 17-12 hole before Kerr turned to his bench.

    Melton scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting in just 12 minutes.

    Green, who like Curry and Melton didn’t play in the second half, had two points, two steals, a rebound and an assist, but also two turnovers and three fouls. Kuminga’s seven rebounds led the Warriors and he also scored seven points. Jackson-Davis added four points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal, but was the only starter with a negative plus/minus (minus-2).

    While Kerr has maintained that he sees Kuminga, whose plus-4 was the best among starters, as a power forward rather than a small forward, he will continue to try him out alongside Green and Jackson-Davis.

    “Yes, we want to look into it further,” Kerr said. “Obviously all three boys are talented players and you want to be able to play with your best players, but it has to be right. We’ll keep trying.”

    Find Combinations

    It wasn’t one or two players who came on first, but a whole new five. This second unit consisted of Podziemski, Gary Payton II, Hield, Kyle Anderson and Kevon Looney. Looney immediately blocked a shot and the group went on a 5-0 run to tie the score.

    Moses Moody entered the game for the final five seconds after those five outscored the Clippers 14-6 and took a 26-23 lead after the first quarter.

    “Loon comes in and does what he does right away,” Kerr said. “He just lets things happen. It’s never going to grab the headlines – setting up a screen, helping on defense – but it helps you win.”

    At the start of the second half, Kerr played with Podziemski, Hield, Moody, Kuminga and Jackson-Davis. That’s what this training camp, like the rest of the pre-season, was all about: finding out who fits best with whom.

    “We had so many different combinations out there,” Kerr said. “I liked Gary’s defensive activities, Melton and BP too. We have guys that can disrupt the offense and turn that defense into offense for us.”

    Moody presents his case

    The season opener was another example of how the numbers game is a difficult situation for Moody and how he can force Kerr to act.

    Despite missing almost the entire first quarter, Moody scored eight points in the first half, second only to Curry. He ended up scoring 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting in 13 minutes and drained two of his five 3-point attempts.

    Moody’s plus-14 was a game-high as he also added four rebounds – three offensive rebounds – two steals, an assist and a block.

    What made Kerr happiest was that Moody shot without hesitation and made quick decisions – the two areas he emphasized most in developing the guard.

    “He did a really good job in camp of getting the shot off quickly and making that priority No. 1,” Kerr said. “He’s a really good shooter and he’s now at the point in his career where he feels where the end point is. I think early in his career he was more hesitant. But the offense runs a lot smoother when he just catches and shoots, and I love it when he does what he’s been doing all week.”

    Next up for the Warriors is a showdown against the Kings on Wednesday night in Sacramento.

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    Idris Bevan
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