Jae Crowder went from being out of the league at the beginning of the week to starting for the Kings on Wednesday. After signing with the team earlier in the day, Crowder was immediately inserted into the lineup. The veteran forward played 27 minutes and contributed eight points, four rebounds and a steal as Sacramento defeated Minnesota to snap a four-game losing streak.
“He knows what it takes to win,” coach Mike Brown told Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee. “Not only that, he’s a grown a– man, and he can guard fours, he can guard fives. If somebody gets going that’s in that realm, he ain’t going to back down. He’s going to fight that much harder. You saw it tonight. You’re not going to stop Julius Randle, but you got to fight him.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Bradley Beal had another injury setback on Wednesday. The Suns wing left their game midway through the fourth quarter with left calf and ankle soreness. Beal was playing just his second game since a five-game absence due to a calf strain. “He had a couple different times where he stepped on somebody’s foot,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said, per David Brandt of the Associated Press. “We’ll hope for the best, but I have no update right now.”
- Warriors second-year guard Brandin Podziemski has been seeking guidance from mental coach Dr. Graig Chow, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Podziemski has been battling a shooting slump, resulting in reduced playing time. He has shown signs of coming out of his funk, including a 12-point, 5-assist performance against Oklahoma City on Wednesday. “I think I’ve let the mental piece of it get to me a little bit,” Podziemski said. “Early on, when I was struggling, the first five, 10 games, I thought it was more physical. Like maybe I wasn’t putting enough into it. But everybody around here knows I’m one of, if not, the hardest workers and I put a lot into it. So I just thought outside the box. ‘Mentally, how can I get to where I want to get to?’ … And Dr. (Chow) has helped, obviously, a lot of people around here. And it doesn’t hurt to try and ask him. So he helped me give me a lot of different things that help me be my authentic self.”
- Lakers coach JJ Redick tweaked his lineup on Wednesday, reinserting rookie Dalton Knecht and moving Cam Reddish to the bench. Knecht scored a game-high 20 points as Los Angeles cruised past San Antonio to end a two-game slide. “I’m very proud of our group,” Redick said. “The response was great. And it’s funny because it’s literally what I talked about with them before the game. It’s just you got to let go of the past. You got to let go of the recent past and you got to get on to the next thing. And like they’ve done already on several occasions, they’ve responded.”
After watching last night’s game versus the Thunder, I am one of the guys who believe you have to have Podski on the floor as much as possible.
You may not see this the same way I do, and that’s ok, but in the same way Marcus Smart effects a game and the same way Kyle Lowry affects a game, it’s these types of guys who make positive things happen out there.
It’s the loose balls, the tips to teammates, the getting the 50/50 balls on the floor, the finding the right open teammate, and all the rest of that blue collar not on the stat sheet stuff.
I just love watching the guy play and another positive part of it is that it’s contagious. I even saw Andrew Wiggins dive for a ball but he might have been tripped in the key, and earlier he tipped a rebound he was not able to gather himself to another teammate.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. May your day be blessed in whatever you do.
Cool. We lost. You enjoy losing basketball then. Couldn’t be me…
the frustrating part is you see other players not doing what Podz and Spencer did last night and dive for lose balls and drive to the hoop. Only thing Podz did wrong in the first half was shooting 3s. he need to go at the basket to open up the 3 pt line.
After watching yet another “Podz played just ok, not terrible and GSW lose and dummies act like he is the next Lebron” game I am convinced he is the only problem. He did nothing to earn his minutes, he plays bad on both sides and seems to think he is better than he really is. Podz ceiling is GP2. This is fact. Neither of them are 30+ MPG starters in this league, but Kerr sure wants them to be.
Unlike GP2, who’s body is destroyed and he is old, Podz simply is not a high IQ player: he has no offensive identity, he appears scared to shoot, his energy is so unfocused, it messes up so many plays, plus his a horrible shooter in-game now. The best thing we can do for him is put him in the GL for 5 games and play him 40 MPG so he can develop his game more. He is such an unfinished product and idiot Kerr think’s he’s better than Moody, when Moody has flashed solid offense/defense profiles in this league despite Kerr’s mishandling of his development. Aint no way playing Anthony Lamb over Moody was good for anyone on any level. Kerr is also once again, a totally dejected, bored-looking HC with no energy and no direction for his team. GSW’s problem here is Steve. Kenny proves it.
hate to tell you Davey but Moody wasn’t that good last night. 0 for 4. Blame Watters and Payton for being terrible last night.
Moody was bad at shooting in the small sliver of playing time he got, yeah. But leave him in there and he will come right. Moody was playing defense on SGA too when he was out there, who cooked him a couple times – but thats not a slight on Moody, he’s not an all-star defender yet, but he could be if he had the playing time Podz gets in all these losses.
Wiggs and Lindy shot 5 for 23, that’s who lost the game last night. Every time Wiggs gets a chance to show he is Him, he chokes. Same ol story with him…
Also I am convinced SGA is Harden+better defense. He doesnt have to hunt fouls, thats low rent. Super talented guy though.