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Jordan Bell has survived the rollercoaster that was his first quarter of the young season, survived very limited minutes and four DNPs in a five-game stretch, all to get his shot to shine.
The Oregon product did so on Friday night's rout over the Orlando Magic, scoring a career-high 16 points in an efficient 8-of-10 from the field along with four rebounds, three blocks, and a steal — all in 16 minutes of play.
Asked of his performance, head coach Steve Kerr summed it up in one word.
“Excellent,” Kerr said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
If the points per minute against the Magic wasn't impressive in itself, Bell has made winning plays consistently, stuffing the stat sheet in his first NBA start against the team that drafted-then-sold him in the Chicago Bulls, putting up seven points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a whopping six blocks during a 26-minute outing, numbers that scream ‘play me' as Kerr tries to figure out his role in a very clogged veteran rotation.
“If I don't put him out there in Miami (on Sunday), Bob (Myers) might fire me,” Kerr said. “We'll keep playing him.”
Yet the rookie forward has maintained a professional approach to his minute-management through this early stretch.
“He said he's going to be mixing it up this whole road trip,” Bell said. “I think it depends on matchups as well. If we play a big team, he's probably going to go with JaVale, rather than me. Depends on the game.”
Kerr's frontcourt carrousel will start to spin slower at some point this season, as roles get more defined prior to a playoff run, but Bell has put this team, the fans, and the coaching staff on notice — the talent is there and it's only a matter of time before it's unleashed on the rest of the NBA.
