The Golden State Warriors have a talent brewing on their hands off of their bench this season.
Star rookie forward Gui Santos has impressed the Warriors many times this year. That was the same case on Saturday night with the spark he gave them off the bench in their 115-110 win over the Detroit Pistons. Now, Santos has many championing for him to receive a fixed role in the rotation.
The Warriors could use a gritty bench spark like Santos
NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson (via Yahoo Sports) raved about the 22-year-old’s high energy, coupled with the intangibles he brings to the floor whenever he sees action. Johnson shared this quote from Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on Santos’ role moving forward:
“But we’ve got to keep playing Gui Santos. We’ve got to keep playing guys who are helping us win right now. This stuff has to play out, and we’ll hope that it plays out,” coach Kerr said.
Santos is a prototypical role player that title teams need
The 6-7 talent finished the game against Detroit with 15 points to go along with six rebounds. Santos did foul out, which speaks to his hustle, as well as a bit of overzealous fervor that comes with his age and experience.
Nevertheless, his ability to make crucial plays is valuable to Golden State. Santos also thrives at finishing near the rim in transition. Coach Kerr alluded to Warriors ascending star Jonathan Kuminga’s impending return in his aforementioned comments, which could relegate Santos back to the end of the bench.
Nonetheless, it appears that coach Kerr will continue giving their former second-round pick more action while their recipe of success continues to work. Santos went from playing in 10 of their first 34 games to 29 of their last 30. He’s shot an efficient 48.3 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from distance in that latter span.
Therefore, the Warriors figure to have an option at the end of their bench who will stay ready to bring passion whenever his number is called. That’ll go a long way for them as they vie for a title come June.