Warriors bright spot: James Wiseman a pleasant surprise in otherwise dismal start to the season

It's hard to overstate how bad the Golden State Warriors have looked in losing their first two games by a combined 65 points, the second-most lopsided margin to start a season since the 1987-88 Clippers. They've been outmatched, sure. The Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks are legit title contenders. But the Warriors were supposed to be at least competitive, if only for the presence of Steph Curry. 

But even he's looked terrible, shooting 4-for-20 from beyond the arc and 34 percent overall. Kelly Oubre is 4-for-24 from the field and yet to make a single 3-pointer in 11 tries. Andrew Wiggins is shooting 29 percent and looks about as organized with the ball in his hands as a napkin in the wind. The bench might be incapable of creating any semblance of offense. The defensive ineptitude, albeit without Draymond Green, almost defies words. 

There has, however, been one bright spot. 

James Wiseman. 

Through the first two games of his career, with no Summer League and no preseason and just three college games under his belt before being chucked into the starting lineup against DeAndre Jordan and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Wiseman is averaging 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on 50-percent shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point land. 

There's context to these numbers, some of which have been compiled in true garbage time as the Warriors have been in deep deficits for most of their two second halves. Still, Wiseman has looked good, showcasing the size-skill combo that inspired the Warriors to take him No. 2 overall in a 2020 draft class that is looking like it might be a lot more talented than it was portrayed. 

Without any film to speak of from his three games at Memphis, Wiseman was drafted almost entirely on speculation. You knew, at the very least, he was a huge human being and a long, fluid, explosive athlete. At seven feet tall, he has a wingspan of seven feet, six inches and a standing reach of nine feet, six inches, which means he can damn near touch the rim standing flat-footed. That's how you bypass traditional blocked shots and just snatch a shot clean out of the air:

If you imagine that kind of length and reach on a rangy, agile athlete, the sky feels like the limit from a physical standpoint. But today's NBA is less about size and more about skill, and for Wiseman, the latter was harder to project with such little high-level game time to draw from. That is what's been so encouraging: This guy can flat out play. He has instincts. Shooting range. And perhaps most importantly in today's game, a natural feel for the pick and roll. 

In these first two clips, watch how Wiseman sets a solid screen, holds it, and then, instead of rolling right away, waits a beat for Curry to turn the corner and drag the second defender with him, which clears a runway for Wiseman to dive down. 

Those are great reads by Wiseman, who isn't a robot. In this next clip, he sees that the ball-handler already has leverage on his defender. Instead of messing around with a pointless pick, he recognizes the early opening, slips the screen and heads straight for the rim before the defense can react. 

So in one instance, Wiseman goes late, and in the next, he goes early. That's called feel. And to have such a feel with this little experience is an encouraging sign; a seven-foot athlete like Wiseman with a feel for the roll, even without any other offensive skills, can be a formidable force. Think a young DeAndre Jordan. 

But Wiseman does have other skills. As mentioned, he's already shown he can shoot comfortably behind the 3-point line. So now, just as defenders are anticipating his rolls to the basket, he can just as easily pop out for open jumpers, becoming a true pick-your-poison weapon. Methodical form notwithstanding, this shot looks smooth and repeatable. 

So now you've got a seven-foot athlete who can roll, and shoot, and also put the ball on the floor like this: 

Another impressive read by Wiseman, who knows the defense is anticipating a handoff. That's Steph Curry for crying out loud. Of course, they think it's going to him. Wiseman using that anticipation against the defense is the type of on-your-feet thinking you can't teach. 

And it's aggressive. Wiseman is pushing the envelope. Bypassing an all-time great scorer to take matters into your own hands in the first half of the first game of your NBA career is gutsy enough, to say nothing of the fluidity and athleticism to turn from a stand-still, horizontal position at the 3-point line and get to the rim in two dribbles, taking off from outside the paint with ease. 

Wiseman also runs the floor, and he's going to have a speed advantage in most of his matchups. In the clip below, Wiseman's matchup is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is slow to locate Wiseman as he backpedals after missing a 3-pointer. At half court, notice Wiseman turn on the jets when he recognizes an opening to beat Giannis down the floor. Kelly Oubre needs to reward his running big in this situation and hit him quickly for a layup or dunk; he doesn't, but Wiseman is still early enough to the spot to establish position on Giannis and draw a foul. 

Add all this up, and we're not talking about DeAndre Jordan anymore. We're talking about a potential multi-threat All-Star on the offensive end. The defense, at this point, isn't really worth evaluating. NBA rotations are something a young player, a big man especially, can typically only acquire through experience; it's a different instinct, whereas offensive instincts are far more nurtured on the amateur circuits. Wiseman has looked like a typical rookie on the defensive end, which is to say far slower to make reads and less comfortable, and confident, than on the offensive end. 

Still, the defensive tools are equally tantalizing. You saw the block at the top of this article where he just snatched the ball right out of the air; here's another example of Wiseman's length as he comes from the opposite side of the lane to the last-second aid of Andrew Wiggins, who bites on a pump fake, to block what appears to be a sure layup:

Here again, he comes from the opposite side of the paint to turn away a layup:

To be able to wait that long, and come from that far away, and still recover in time to block a shot is just not something many players can do, even high-level defenders. That is rare stuff, and moving forward it's going to give Wiseman the ability to stay attached to his man for a beat longer, which guards against lob passes, before committing to help on penetrators at the last second. That is a highly valuable skill in today's game. 

Indeed, Wiseman appears to possess a lot of valuable skills mixed with size and athleticism you can't teach. That's a potent combination. One that the Warriors can at least be excited about while they endure these early season struggles.