Collins Says Team Had Fun, Showed Fight
Golden State Warriors Summer League head coach Jarron Collins said he was proud of his team’s effort in their 80-76 win over the Houston Rockets Wednesday night.
After creating a 17-point lead in the third quarter, the Rockets surged back to take the lead late in the game, but Collins thought the Warriors’ state of mind played a big role in holding on to win.
“We were having fun. We were playing with the joy we were accustomed to playing with,” Collins said. “There’s going to be games like that where the second unit comes in and they make a run at us. I’m really proud of our guys, that they dug deep and were able to gut out a tough win.”
Kuz Operates Offense From The Post
Ognjen Kuzmic was very Andrew Bogut-esque in the Warriors offense against Houston. He made an early impact on the boards, and passing out of the post. Kuzmic was credited with three early assists and finished with 5 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for the game.
Collins said the Warriors were looking to run the offense through Kuzmic at times to open easy opportunities for other players.
“We feel like we can get some shots for our guys off of screens on the perimeter, Collins explained. “The idea is to throw the ball into ‘Kuz’, split cuts, set screens for one another, get one another open, and then if there’s nothing there go to work with Kuz.
It’s a part of the Warriors offense that has been heavily used with Draymond Green, Shaun Livingston, and Bogut, while other players screen off-ball to get open or cut to the paint.
McCaw Has Fun With Blocked Dunk
Patrick McCaw confirmed he thought he’d convert baseline dunk late over Rockets. Said he didn’t see Montrezl Harrell til it was too late.
“Yeah I was trying to dunk that baseline for sure,” McCaw said. “I didn’t see Montrezl until I was about to dunk it and he blocked it. He was watching me.”
McCaw half-joked with a smile on his face that he was happy crowd enjoyed it: “That’s good that the crowd got excited.”
Sykes Razzed, Encouraged By Beverley
Keifer Sykes said there was some chatter back and forth between him and Rockets guard Patrick Beverley, who was in attendance with a number of other Houston players.
Both Sykes and Beverley attended Marshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago, and Sykes said Beverley was, at times jokingly, hollering encouragement from his court-side seat.
“Yeah, I talked to Patrick Beverley. He was screaming at me from the side to finish, but it’s kind of one of those things where you’ve got to get a rhythm,” Sykes said.
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