With the Golden State Warriors’ platoon of All-Stars out due to various injuries, it was time for the team to embrace the “Next Man Up” mantra.
Eric Paschall heeded that call on his birthday, exploding for a career-high 36 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field, leading the Warriors to a 127-118 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers to earn their first win at the Chase Center.
The unheralded Villanova product, who was picked 41st overall by the Dubs in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, talked about his mentality that led to his breakout game:
“You got to feel like you’re the best player out there. It’s a dog eat dog world. If you’re not aggressive, you gonna get eat alive. There are some killers out there,” he said postgame, per Anthony Slater of the Athletic.
Paschall’s unlikely performance was so inspiring for the injury-stricken Warriors team, that he was even showered with “MVP” chants by the delighted home crowd:
Paschall I’m hearing the MVP chants inside Chase: “That was a little crazy. I’m not going to lie … that was a ‘wow’ moment.”
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 5, 2019
An undersized power forward standing at just 6-foot-6, Paschall has played the hero for the 2-6 Warriors since Stephen Curry, D’Angelo Russell, and Draymond Green all went down to injuries.
He has already eclipsed the 20-point mark thrice this season, dropping 20 points against the Phoenix Suns and 25 points against the Charlotte Hornets in their previous game.
Steve Kerr has upped Paschall’s minutes in the last few games, as he averaged 13.8 points on 61 percent shooting from the field prior to Monday's game versus Portland.
Paschall went 0-5 from downtown against the Hornets, but bounced back nicely on Monday, connecting on four of his six attempts from beyond the arc.
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