Warriors: James Wiseman reflects on ‘necessary’ G League stint
SALT LAKE CITY — James Wiseman never viewed his G League assignment as a demotion. It was “necessary,” he said Wednesday, after he had difficulty finding a rhythm and adjusting to the speed of the game in the first month of the season.
Spending time away from the NBA allowed Wiseman to focus on his own individual development without impacting the Warriors’ record.
“I’m just focused on getting better,” he said, “just improving each day in small areas, just getting like 1% better each day.”
Now is Wiseman’s chance to show how much progress he’s made over the last three weeks.
Wiseman rejoined the shorthanded Warriors for their one-game road trip to Utah Wednesday after being recalled from the G League the day before. He said he’s more appreciative to be back in the top league for a variety of reasons, including — but not limited to — the “big a– hotel” rooms and “great beds” with soft sheets.
Wiseman knows he’s still not where he needs to be in terms of his feel for the game, but a three-week stint in the G League helped rejuvenate the struggling 7-foot center.
In 11 NBA games to start the season, he averaged 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds over 13.4 minutes per game — not bad production. But he was fouling too much and became a glaring defensive liability. The Warriors were outscored by a whopping 73 points when Wiseman was on the court.
Wiseman’s poor play coincided with the bench’s struggles, and the Warriors couldn’t afford to let the 21-year-old, who hasn’t played a full basketball season in four years, play through his mistakes.
So rather than having their No. 2 overall pick ride the bench, the Warriors sent Wisman to Santa Cruz, where he received individualized attention and worked on every aspect of his game. He showed signs of improvement over his seven G League games, posting averages of 15.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 26.6 minutes per game. In his most recent game Saturday night, Wiseman finished plus-17, his best plus-minus of the season.
“Me going down there playing like 25, 28 minutes, I was able to play through my mistakes,” Wiseman said. “I feel like I got better a lot in that small time. I’m getting my rhythm back and my confidence back.”
He admitted his defense remains a work in progress.
“I’m kind of adjusting on the fly,” he said. “But I’m going to get it, it’ll all come together eventually.”
Wiseman isn’t sure how long he’ll be with the Warriors, who are playing Wednesday without Stephen Curry (left ankle soreness), Draymond Green (left hip tightness) and Andrew Wiggins (strained right leg muscle).
The Warriors have turned the page on their early-season struggles and looked more like themselves over the past few weeks. They’ve won seven of their last 10 games which put the defending champions above .500 on the season. With things going well, coach Steve Kerr previously said he’s hesitant to tinker with the rotation. But with three key players sidelined by injuries, this could be an opportunity for Wiseman to demonstrate what he’s learned.
Wiseman’s approach going forward?
“Just keeping it simple,” he said. “Make sure I rebound, protect the rim, set good screens, roll to the basket hard. Because every time I put pressure on the rim, everybody’s open, just work the dunker spot. And that’s really it, just play simple, don’t try to do too much.”
And another thing:
“I’m just focused on getting better,” he said. “I missed so much time playing basketball, 18 months, a lot of setbacks that I couldn’t control, but now since I’m in this moment, I’m just grateful and I’m working on getting better.”