James Wiseman was only on the floor for 14 minutes on Thursday, the fewest he's played in the Golden State Warriors' first five games of the regular season. Definitely don't take the young big man's comparative lack of playing time as any negative referendum on his performance against the Miami Heat, though.
After his team's impressive 123-110 victory over the Heat, Steve Kerr offered nothing but glowing praise of Wiseman's on-court progress and overall approach during the first training camp, preseason and real games he's participated in since April 2021.
“I couldn't be happier with his development, his attitude, his approach every day,” Kerr said. “What he's done to overcome the injury. He's just a wonderful young guy who wants to be great.”
Wiseman had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench against Miami, finishing in the plus-minus green for the first time this season. He shot an efficient 5-of-8 from the field, making hay around the rim with his rare combination of size and quick-twitch explosiveness. If Golden State hadn't missed him with errant passes on multiple restricted area seals and high-flying leaps for alley-oops, Wiseman would've had several more buckets, some of the highlight variety.
But the most encouraging big-picture takeaway from Wiseman's performance is just how routine he made it all seem after missing all of 2020-21 with injury. The 21-year-old has definitely played a role in Golden State's collective bench struggles in the season's early going, more so on defense than the other end, but also shown enough overall composure and two-way flashes of high-level skill and athleticism to believe he'll keep his spot in the rotation throughout the season.
The playoffs will be a different story, and Kerr's persistent reminders that it will take time for Wiseman to become a nightly impact player suggest he'll spend more time on the bench for the Warriors come spring. The mere possibility of Wiseman playing a role in the postseason seemed naive before training camp tipped off, though.
It doesn't anymore, just as ringing an endorsement of Wiseman's development five games into the regular season as Kerr's bright-eyed approval.
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