At 28 years old, Golden State Warriors reserve forward, Marreese Speights is having a pretty impressive season. Sure, he might only be averaging 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, but he’s also doing that in just 11.5 minutes per contest and his contributions stretch far beyond just per game numbers.
His teammates love him and one of the most incredible things this season has been Speights’ ability to knockdown jumpers at a considerable rate. So far this season, the talented big man is shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc on 60 attempts. Coming into this season, he’d only ever even attempted 79 threes, and 49 of those came in the prior two seasons. But his shooting has helped the team.
From Vic Tafur, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle:
“He opens up games for us,” guard Stephen Curry said. “The first shot is big for Mo. I love his confidence now. It’s like, ‘Whatever, I’m shooting it. Ya’ll can live with it.’ He has good touch and range, and now he’s stepping into his shots.”
The confidence that Speights is playing with has been seen by all of his Warriors teammates, and it’s something that has been fostered over the last two years under head coach Steve Kerr. Everyone loves him and he could be a key part of the team’s run through the playoffs if he continues to hit shots.
With a big man rotation of Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, and Marreese Speights, the Warriors have options to throw at teams no matter what the matchup might be, and that’s a pivotal thing to have these days. Don’t be surprised if the eight-year forward hits a big shot in a key game. He’s certainly capable of doing so.
Word.
Not to be a downer, but I’m hoping Mo isn’t playing his way off of this team and into a big contract. I know that things rarely stay the same in the NBA, but I’d hate to see him go. Enjoying the ride for now…