Pat Spencer, on a two-way contract, has led the charge for the Warriors in several consecutive games now.
This article is an authorized translation. The original version was written by Joseph Dycus and published in The Mercury News, translated into Italian by Marco Barone for Around the Game.
Against Cleveland, with a third of the players absent, i Golden State Warriors they needed their ragged group to play with maximum effort, handle the ball well and make some well-timed shots to at least stay in the game. On paper, if they had done these things, maybe – without Steph and Seth Curry, Draymond Green (foot injury), Al Horford (sciatica), Jimmy Butler (knee injury) and De’Anthony Melton (rest) – would have had a chance against the full Cavaliers, with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
Or, it would have simply been enough to rely on another masterful performance by Pat Spencer. The latter earned his first start and scored a career-high 19 points, as well as dishing out seven assists. After making a triple midway through the fourth quarter, Spencer turned to the Cavs crowd and began taunting them.
Golden State led 96-91 with a minute left, but Evan Mobley grabbed an offensive rebound and Darius Garland hit a free throw, cutting the lead to just two points with 21 seconds left. In a game where all 10 active Warriors played, Gui Santos scored 14 points and made a free throw to put the team up 97-94. Mitchell missed a 3-point shot with four seconds left and the Warriors ended a two-game losing streak.
With Spencer struggling with foul trouble for much of the first quarter, the Warriors’ offense stumbled, while the Cavs managed to take an 18-12 lead after 12 minutes. But everything changed in the second period, when the Dubs outscored the Cavaliers 33-18, with Spencer available most of the time. Golden State picked up the pace against a team that seemed sleepwalking against such a limited opponent, taking a 72-62 lead after three quarters.
A victory that boosted morale for Golden State, which repeated itself by walking in back-to-backs last night against the Bulls. Pat Spencer finished with 12 points and 6 assists, mentioning another efficient 6 of 10 shooting and +30 plus/minus, probably still agitated by the scenes at the end against Cleveland. But it is not the first time that his competitive spirit comes out so blatantly in the face of the entire opposing arena.
A few nights earlier, Pat Spencer took a somewhat tortuous route to the Warriors bench after hitting a three-point shot that put the team up 98-94 with 1:12 left in the game against the Sixers. He beat his chest several times before launching some provocations that were anything but family friendly to the families to the stunned Philadelphia crowd as he walked back to the Warriors huddle. Who could blame him?
Yes, at the end of that game Golden State lost for the second time in a row in heartbreaking fashion, this time 99-98 to the Sixers. But the Warriors managed to stay competitive thanks to Spencer’s energetic play for the second straight game. This did not go unnoticed by coach Steve Kerr, who praised Spencer for setting the tone during recent matches, to the point of rewarding him with two consecutive starts in the starting five:
“It’s just who I am, it’s innate for me to go out there, compete and give it my all, no matter what opponent I’m in front of. I’m grateful that he [Steve Kerr] understand it and recognize it.”
– Pat Spencer
Against Philadelphia he scored a team-high 16 points and dished out four assists in 24 minutes. This result came after a 17-point night in a gutsy performance against the Thunder, the defending champions with a 22-1 record. After these recent double-digit performances, he is averaging 7.1 points and 3.1 assists per game, with a 44.4% three-point percentage, the highest of his career, thanks to the increased ball-handling opportunities afforded to him by Kerr.
“You feel a little more comfortable when you can go out there and have the freedom to miss a couple of shots knowing you’re not going to get subbed out.”
– Pat Spencer
Along the way, he provided something the Warriors lacked, aside from an injured Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. Yes, the Dubs have a lot of guards who can shoot: Seth Curry, Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton and Will Richard are all perfect for this off-ball role. But who is able to get to the basket off the dribble? None of them have the same skills as Pat Spencer.
“Without Steph, for sure, he has to be on the field. It would be great to find a way to get him on the roster permanently, because he would be perfect as a reserve. He can win you games, like he almost did tonight.”
– coach Steve Kerr, after the match against Philadelphia
In his third NBA season, Spencer is experiencing his moment of glory and can count his coach among those who would like to see him play a more important role even after the return of Curry and Butler. But actually giving Spencer more space? It won’t be easy, for contractual reasons written in black and white.
The Northwestern product is on a two-way contract, meaning he will only be able to play 50 games with the Warriors. This is a contract generally designed for developmental players who can split their time between the G League and the NBA. Spencer, who is 29 and clearly ready for the NBA, has already used 24 of those games, having played in 15 of them.
The easiest way to get around this obstacle would be to sign Spencer to a standard contract. But that would require the Warriors to cut a player on a non-two-way contract. And considering Golden State’s injury problems, the team needs all the players it can get. “It would be great if we could find a way, but it’s a little complicated”Kerr said.
But if Spencer continues to deliver prolific performances off the bench, the Warriors could be faced with tough decisions.
What if Pat Spencer was the secret to beating OKC? We talked about the Thunder’s opponents, and therefore also the Warriors, also on nostro podcast, The Weak Side. Find us on Spotify!
