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Kendra Andrews, ESPNOct 10, 2024, 02:42 AM ET
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors want to maintain their identity with a fast-paced offense and 3-point shooting.
Still searching for the best combinations with a new set of players, coach Steve Kerr believes high-volume scoring and playing in transition needs to be an emphasis. Wednesday night’s 122-112 preseason win over the Sacramento Kings was the evidence Kerr sought.
The Warriors made 28 of their 52 3-point attempts, the most the team has ever made in a game.
Jonathan Kuminga, when told of the stat, wore a surprised look on his face and said, “Really?” Golden State’s regular-season 3-point record is 27, which it has reached twice.
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“I think almost all of them were good shots,” Kerr said of the Warriors’ performance Wednesday.
Kerr doesn’t have a projected number of 3s he wants his team to shoot, but he has said he’d like to see Kuminga attempt several good 3s per game, and for Andrew Wiggins to take six to seven. He also named Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and De’Anthony Melton as players he wants to shoot them more.
Shooting depth is how the Warriors plan to make up for the void Klay Thompson left. Thompson attempted nine 3-pointers per game last season. There’s an understanding that no one player will be able to make up for that, so they want an all-hands-on-deck approach.
“What I like about this team is, even though we’ve lost Klay, we’ve got more shooting depth,” Kerr said. “We have more guys who can step in from one night to the next and make 3s. It’s going to be a big part of our team for sure.”
Against the Kings, Buddy Hield shot 6-of-7 from 3, and postgame said that he feels his shot could get even better as he shakes off the off-season rust and gets more acclimated to his new team.
Kuminga went 4-of-7. Melton also hit four, Stephen Curry and Lindy Waters III both hit three, and Podziemski, Green and Moody hit two.
“Steve actually encourages it,” Podziemski said. “It’s what we’ve been focusing on in camp. It’s been transition both ways and shooting 3s. … We have the personnel to do it. It’s a little different that we have more guys who can shoot the 3 besides Steph and Klay.”
Podziemski led the team with eight assists in a starting spot. His connectivity has been highlighted through the preseason, as the Warriors adjust from losing Chris Paul in the backup point guard role.
As the Warriors continue to try pushing the pace, they will lean on him to bridge the starters and second unit, whether or not he comes off of the bench.
“That’s all I’m thinking about — just making the right play,” Podziemski said. “I don’t need to score the ball to impact the ball.”
He continued: “A lot of [our 3s] came off the edge or one more pass. When you feel that and when the ball is moving around it feels like everybody is in rhythm because everybody is touching it. Even if they’re not shooting it, they got to touch the ball. I think that’s super important.”
