SAN FRANCISCO — It isn’t just the corner threes, ability to crash the boards from any angle, vision on the court and sneaky-quick hands on the defensive side the Warriors will miss in Donte DiVincenzo’s absence this season.
More than anything else, it’s his energy.
“He impacted the game as soon as he got out there,” coach Steve Kerr said on Tuesday. “That’s why the fans loved him.”
DiVincenzo made his debut with the New York Knicks on Monday night, when he began his tenure by missing the first six shots he took in their preseason win over the Boston Celtics.
The 26-year-old guard who signed a four-year, $50-million deal to play his home games at Madison Square Garden, told reporters in New York that he’s still not yet comfortable in the Knicks system.
“Still learning a new coach and a new environment,” he said.
Back in the Bay Area, the Warriors are trying to figure out what life without him will look like.
“I thought Donte was so important for us last year because he was just in the mix all the time, played with such good energy, his intentions were always great,” Kerr said.
How will they replace him?
“We’re going to miss Donte but that opens a spot for someone to step into,” the coach said. “Maybe it’s’ Brandin (Podziemski), maybe it’s Moses (Moody). I don’t know. But we do have to replace what Donte gave us.”
Podziemski is hoping he’ll be a natural fit. Watching from afar while serving as a stat-stuffer at Santa Clara University, Podziemski said he admired DiVincenzo’s game and is hoping to emulate him for this year’s Warriors team.
“I looked at what Donte, Ty Jerome and Anthony Lamb did last year,” Podziemski said. “I put it all together and envisioned what my role can be. Sometimes it’s scoring, sometimes it’s rebounding. It’s different every night. Just watching them from afar and seeing their roles, I think it’s something I can do.”
In his preseason debut in the Warriors’ 125-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, Poziemski led the team in minutes (26) while ranking third in points (11), tied for second in plus/minus (plus-six), second in rebounds (six) and second in assists (four), while adding a block and a steal to his impressive night.
Kerr said he also leads the team in deflections through the first week or two of training camp and is “constantly one step ahead of the play at both ends.”
A rookie who played just one full collegiate season at Santa Clara after transferring from Illionios, where he barely saw the floor his freshman year, Podziemski doesn’t seem like an inexperienced player to Kerr.
“He has very little experience but he seems to have a knack,” Kerr said. “Some guys just have a knack. This guy has the knack.”
Perhaps it’s a lot to ask Podziemski to become this year’s DiVincenzo, the energetic guard who comes off the bench and put up 10 points a game, but Podziemski said he’ll do anything he can to “impact winning.”
The other option Kerr named as a possible replacement was Moody, who averaged about one assist, two rebounds and five points while playing 13 minutes per game last season.
“Donte was a really good corner rebounder, active, running through the pass, he does a lot of things,” Moody said.
Moody said he spent the offseason working on his shooting and rhythm, and said he expects a better season this time around.
Klay’s board work
The Warriors are asking Klay Thompson to become more of a rebounder as he evolves in the later stages of his career, and they liked what they saw from him on Saturday.
He hauled in four defensive rebounds and 10 points in just 13 minutes.
“The rebounding conversation we first had with the entire team, we’re emphasizing it with everybody,” Kerr said. “The conversations within Klay this year and last year really centered around adapting your game as you get older. There are things you can’t do anymore and you have to add other things.
“I think Klay staying in the play, not leaking out, is a really big deal for us this year. If he stays in the play we’ll get a lot of long rebounds on both ends. We want him crashing on the offensive class and staying in on the defensive glass, hitting bodies. If we can get two extra rebounds a game it’s going to help him and help us.”
When Thompson is used in the four position, he’s expected to match up against the opponents’ stronger interior player while Andrew Wiggins will shift to cover the more dynamic player, Kerr said.
Notable
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Kerr opened his press conference by offering his condolences to the family of Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone after the passing of his dad, Brendan Malone. Brendan Malone coached in the NBA from 1986 until 2016 and was a two-time NBA champion as an assistant coach. He was 81…
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