The preseason got off to a not-so-positive start for the Warriors’ centers as the injury bug seemed to catch three of the big men. Prior the team’s first exhibition game of the 2019-20 season, new Dub Willie Cauley-Stein suffered a mid-foot strain, the returning Kevon Looney “had a little tweak of his hamstring” according to Head Coach Steve Kerr, and rookie Alen Smailagić rolled and sprained an ankle.
Though not the start anybody would have predicted or hoped for, the outlook is by no means bleak for the Warriors and their bigs as they head into Opening Night on Thursday against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.
Looney is trending upward in his rehab and, as Kerr said on Sunday, “hopefully he’ll be ready to go on Thursday night.” His continuous improvement with the Dubs — including last season’s per-game averages of 6.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks over 18 minutes of playing time, all career-highs — earned him a contract extension with the team this summer.
According to Bob Myers at Media Day, Cauley-Stein’s injury will only keep him out until late October. The seven-foot Cauley-Stein holds career averages of 10.1 points, and 6.4 rebounds through his first four years in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings.
Though the team awaits the return of their rotation players in the pivot spot in Cauley-Stein and Looney, the early injuries to the Dubs’ bigs may have been a blessing in disguise. The Warriors signed 6-foot-10-inch veteran Marquese Chriss to a camp invitation on October 1; though most of his NBA minutes had been spent at power forward — where he has career averages of 7.6 points and 4.5 rebounds — Chriss had the ability fill the void at the center spot in the team’s five exhibition games over the last two weeks.
Chriss initially came off the bench in the squad’s first game, but his performance landed him in the starting five for the remainder of camp. By the end of the preseason, Chriss averaged 9.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game; his consistency on both sides of the floor turned his status as camp invitee into a spot with the team for the regular season.
Kerr said that Chriss demonstrated a well-rounded skillset after the Warriors’ game on October 10: “He’s got more skill as a passer and screener than I realized. And so we are very excited about that.”
Also joining the Warriors’ squad of bigs in the 2019-20 season is Omari Spellman. Though acquired via trade with the Atlanta Hawks just this summer, he was a player of interest to the Warriors since he worked out for the team prior to the 2018 NBA Draft.
Besides bringing a six-foot-eight-inch frame to the hardwood, he has a three-point shot to go with it; in his one year at Villanova, he averaged 43.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Though the Dubs had interest in Spellman last season, he was drafted by and played for the Atlanta Hawks where he posted 5.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in over 17 minutes per game.
Heading into the 2019-20 season, the Warriors hold a wide array of options at the “five,” from three point shooters to hard-nosed defenders.
