James Wiseman is getting closer to his return from knee surgery. The second-year center will only boost the inspired Golden State Warriors that sit at 2nd place in the Western Conference with a 5-1 record.
Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and co. have done a terrific job early this season, dominating direct rivals like Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. Things can only get better for the Dubs once they recover Wiseman and Klay Thompson.
The sophomore is keen to prove doubters wrong after a tumultuous first season in the league. The big man knows he still has a lot of room to improve, but his team is ready to help him however they can to fulfill his potential.
Curry is one of those who have plans for James. On Saturday, the 2x NBA MVP told Wiseman that he’ll get a lot of lob passes to dunk.
Via NBC Sports:
During the Warriors’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, Curry found Kevon Looney in the corner and the veteran got fouled. Curry walked over to Wiseman on the bench to explain how that action will look when he’s on the floor.
“Steph was just like, ‘When you come back, that’s going to be a lot of lobs right there,'” Wiseman said after practice on Monday. “It’s going to be a lot of open opportunities for me to score and for me to impact the team on the offensive end.”
“That’s been my game ever since I was in high school anyways,” Wiseman said Monday about being used in the pick-and-roll. “So I’m used to that. Just keep it simple. That’s what I pride myself on doing this year is just keeping it simple. Because we have a lot of shooters this year, so I just work on playmaking skills, keep it simple and I’ll be fine.”
Wiseman didn’t have the best season for a No. 2 overall pick. Plenty of people believed he was too raw to play in the league and wanted to see him out of the Warriors. The team supported him every step of the way and clarified he’s part of their plans.
James is ready to bounce back and demonstrate he belongs to the league. That won’t be easy, but he has a good team backing him. The Warriors are still a dangerous squad and adding this player will take them to the next level.
