Tag: Warriors Rookies

Ky Bowman calls fellow Warriors rookie the ‘strongest man in the league’

In a recent tweet, Golden State Warriors rookie Ky Bowman had high praise for Eric Paschall, calling him the “strongest man in the league.”

Although tipoff for the NBA’s Orlando Bubble is right around the corner, the Golden State Warriors are already in offseason mode. With their league-worst 15-50 record, the Warriors were one of eight teams not invited to the league’s restart at Disney World.

With no hoops on the calendar, the Warriors’ official Twitter account has been sharing some of the top moments from the 2019-20 season. On Wednesday, the Warriors posted a video celebrating Eric Paschall.

Via @warriors on Twitter:

The Villanova product retweeted the video with the caption “Blessed.” After Paschall’s tweet, his rookie teammate Ky Bowman chimed in. Bowman had high praise for Paschall, calling Golden State’s young forward the “strongest man in the league.”

Via @KyranBowman on Twitter:

Paschall joined Bowman and Jordan Poole to lead a solid rookie class in Golden State. With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson injured, Paschall quickly blossomed into a lead scoring option in Steve Kerr’s offense. The rookie was instrumental in Golden State’s first win at San Francisco’s new Chase Center, scoring a career-high 34 points against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The second-round pick averaged 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Paschall ranked in the top 10 in both points and rebounds per game for 2019-20 rookies.

After a solid debut season, Paschall is slated to play an important role alongside a healthy edition of the Splash Brothers and Draymond Green. The Warriors will need Paschall to replicate similar production from his rookie year in their path back to the Western Conference Postseason.

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Injury Report: Ky Bowman (ankle) will get MRI, won’t travel on trip to Phoenix

Warriors rookie Ky Bowman will get an MRI after injuring his ankle against the Los Angeles Lakers.

On the outside, it may look like the Golden State Warriors injury issues are coming to an end with the return of Stephen Curry nearing. However, a bevy of new injuries are piling up in Golden State.

Andrew Wiggins was a late scratch against the Los Angeles Lakers with upper back spasms, nixing one starter from Steve Kerr’s rotation before the game began.

Late into the Warriors 116-86 loss to the Lakers, Ky Bowman left the game with an apparent injury. Bowman’s Golden State teammates had to assist him off the court and into the locker room.

After the game, Kerr spoke to reporters about the severity of Bowman’s injury.

Via Warriors SoundCloud:

Ky rolled his ankle pretty well. It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing. He’s going to be out a little bit. He won’t go on the trip. I think he’ll get an MRI tomorrow.

Bowman has been a pleasant surprise for the Warriors, evolving from a two-way contract into a full-time player that has command of Kerr’s offense. In his rookie season, Bowman is averaging 7.3 points on 40.5 % shooting from the field while dishing 3.0 assists in 22.3 minutes per game.

Kerr confirmed the Boston College product would be out for at least Golden State’s road game against the Phoenix Suns. Without Bowman, the Warriors will feature a backcourt of Jordan Poole, Damion Lee and Mychal Mulder until Curry returns from his broken hand injury.

Rookie first-round pick Jordan Poole heading to G League Santa Cruz

The Warriors have made the decision to send first-round draft pick Jordan Poole down to their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.

When the Warriors selected Jordan Poole out of Michigan with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, it was a bit of a surprise. By most draft experts, Poole was seen as a project, and so far through 2019, but the first quarter returns on the rookie have failed.

Poole’s best asset traits when drafted, were his confidence and shooting ability. Yet, in his rookie season, he’s struggled to see his shot fall, and his confidence has suffered because of it.

A month ago, Poole tied his season-high when he scored 20 points against the Miami Heat. The rookie was 5-of-6 from three-point range and was looking like he found his rhythm for the first time as a professional— since then, it’s hasn’t been as pleasant.

In 12-games since scoring 20 against the Heat, the 2019 first-rounder has combined to score 18 points total on 4-38 shooting from the field. Through the first two weeks of December, Poole was 0-16 from the field and 0-10 from beyond the arc.

To help restore Poole’s confidence, the Golden State Warriors have decided to send the rookie down to their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. Steve Kerr said this was part of the team’s plan for Poole all along.

“Just a part of his development,” Kerr told reporters before the team tipped off against the Phoenix Suns. “We thought that would be part of it all along—When we drafted him, when we had him this summer, we figured there would be times we put him in the G League, and this seems like a good time to do so.”

Kerr said there’s no timetable for how long Poole will stick in the G League, but with the Warriors healthy at guard for one of the first times all season, it could be awhile.

“It’s just for an indefinite period,” said Kerr. “It could be for a couple games; it could be for a couple weeks. It just depends on how everything is going up here with us, and if we need him or not.”

Poole’s career started with a bang after being thrust into heavy minutes at only 20-years of age, a stretch in the G League to build his confidence back up could be the best choice for his development in the long-run.

Eric Paschall leads all rookies in one of the NBA’s most notable stats

Eric Paschall is in the top-three in points per game, points scored and total rebounds for all-rookies in the NBA.

Eric Paschall’s rookie campaign has been one of the league’s most pleasant surprises, and now that we’re almost 20 percent of the way through the NBA season, it’s safe to say he’s no fluke.

Paschall has been a bright spot in a dismal start for the Golden State Warriors. The rookie has carried the team through the early parts of 2019. With Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry out, Paschall ranks in the top three in several statistical categories for the Warriors, including points per game (17.1) and field goal percentage (50.5).

Paschall’s 256 total points are good enough to not only lead Golden State, but rank as the most amount of points scored by any rookie this season— not bad for a guy who had 40 players picked before him in the 2019 draft.

Paschall leads lottery picks like Ja Morant (241), RJ Barrett (229) and Tyler Herro (168) in points. The Villanova product also ranks in the top-five in rookie points per game, total rebounds, rebounds per game, and field goal percentage.

Paschall has dropped two-30 point-plus games this season, Morant has one of his own, while Barrett, Herro, and Bulls rookie Coby White have zero— all players with better odds to win the 2020 Rookie of the Year according to Caesar’s sportsbook.

The most important stat for Paschall might be the fact he’s only missed one game for a team ravaged by injury. The Warriors lead the NBA in games missed due to injury, but the rookie has played in 15-of-16 games this season.

With most of the Warriors roster still on the mend, the 23-year old will continue to get opportunities to be the primary scorer when on the floor. If Paschall can continue to play at this pace, he should be a favorite to take home Rookie of the Month honors for November.