The Santa Cruz Warriors have so far performed really well this season, going 9-6 despite multiple roster transactions. Most importantly, 3 Santa Cruz Warriors have already gotent called up to an NBA team.
Most notably, G Seth Curry, who a lot of people predicted would get called up before the D-League season concluded, got signed by the Memphis Grizzlies on December 24th. Head Coach Casey Hill has to be credited for allowing Curry to play mainly from the Point Guard position, which was one of the concerns many NBA scouts had about him.
Curry excelled at the position, scoring 21.3 PPG, dishing out 7.83 APG, and committing 3.67 turnovers per game. Curry’s 2:1 assist to turnover ratio has been very encouraging considering he has not played too much Point Guard prior to this season.
However in order to excel to a similar level to his brother Stephen Curry, Seth has to have better shot selections and increase his FG and 3PT percentage, something that will happen with more experience.
G Cameron Jones has continued to develop rapidly, turning from a D-League no-name D-League player into a #21 D-League prospect. Jones, who was named the most improved D-League player last season, has averaged 21.2 PPG and 4.1 APG, from his statistics last season where he only averaged 12.6 PPG and 2.26 APG. Jones has been much more assertive this season, creating his own shots.
Another player who has stepped up this season is C DeWayne Dedmon. Dedmon, who was called up earlier this season, has shown a lot of skills and raw athleticism that helped him get called up by the Golden State Warriors earlier this season, averaging 15.8 PPG, 15.4 RPG, and a tremendous 2.7 BPG.
NBA Call-Ups
G Seth Curry: Memphis Grizzlies (Dec. 24-Present)
Grizzlies Statistics: 0 GP 0 MPG 0 PPG 0.0 RPG 0.0 APG
C Dwayne Dedmon: Golden State Warriors (Nov. 18-Dec. 10)
GS Warriors Statistics: 4 GP 1.4 MPG 0.25 PPG 0.00 RPG
F Hilton Armstrong: Golden State Warriors (Dec. 11-Present)
GS Warriors Statistics: 4 GP 4.0 MPG 0.86 PPG 2.29 RPG 0.29 BPG
Golden State Warriors Affiliates in D-League
G Nemanja Nedovic: 4 GP 22.0 PPG 4.25 APG
C Ognen Kuzmic: 1 GP 12.0 PPG 9.0 RPG
Bottom Line
With the Warriors roster expected to have more roster turnovers this season, on-court team chemistry could become an issue with this team. However, when players get called-up, other players, notably F Mychel Thompson and PG Kiwi Gardner will seek to take full advantage of the opportunity to showcase their talents.
We have seen Gardner already singlehandedly lead the Warriors to a comeback victory from a 17-point deficit during the month of December, scoring 23 points in the last 9 minutes of the game vs. Bakersfield Jam.
As fans continue to give the Santa Cruz Warriors the best D-League home-court advantage by continuing to sell out Kaiser Permanente Arena, the Warriors should continue to win consistently, playing well as a team and helping players on the roster receive the NBA call-up.