To hear local media, and the Warriors themselves, tell it, the answer to the team’s struggles this season was right in front of them all along in the form of 24-year-old rookie Quinten Post.
Emerging from the depths of Steve Kerr’s rotation, Post dropped 20 points in 20 minutes on 7-of-12 shooting during the Dubs’ 131-106 win against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. Dropping that kind of stat line in your sixth-ever NBA game as a second-round pick is impressive on its own, but Post scored most of his points from beyond the arc, shooting 5-of-10 from three — the irony of his last name is not lost on anyone.
But the excitement after one excellent performance has been something to behold. Speaking with reporters after the game, Kerr heavily praised Post’s performance from beyond the arc and declared that star Steph Curry “was the happiest guy in the building with all that room to work with.”
The impression was even stronger in the press box. Reporters Tim Kawakami and Anthony Slater titled their Friday episode of the “Warriors Plus-Minus” podcast “The Quinten Post Episode.” They also fawned over the rookie’s performance, and how it helps Post’s teammates.
“They needed another thing because they are lacking in a lot of offensive weaponry and this is adding a weapon who can stylistically play with Steph and they really need that,” Kawakami said.
“[Dennis] Schroder makes a lot more sense when you have space out there, and that’s Quinten Post,” Slater said.
For what it’s worth, the two understood that this is, after all, just one game, and that Post isn’t the panacea for this season. The Bulls are terrible, the Warriors have been inconsistent, Post’s defense could only be described as “he’s trying” by Kawakami, and once Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga make their way back into the lineup, his minutes will take a hit.
Still, the excitement from everyone about Post’s game has made those caveats seem like afterthoughts, and who could blame them? There’s now a glimmer of hope in an otherwise gloomy season thanks to the emergence of the sharpshooting big the team has wanted for years. It’s certainly inspiring stuff, but the fact that this is coming from one single anomalous blowout win has to raise some questions. For the sake of the rookie, hopefully those questions come out slowly instead of all at once.
