Chemistry and winning matter most tonight for the Golden State Warriors’s road trip to New Orleans. But so does Zaza Pachulia.
Of all the individual performances in the Warriors’s 29-point loss to the Spurs, none were more troubling than the newly acquired center.
Pachulia scored 2 points but more alarmingly grabbed just 3 rebounds in 20 minutes on Tuesday. San Antonio out-rebounded Golden State by 23 and players afterward pointed directly at rebounding as to why the team lost.
But after analyzing the film from the season opener, Steve Kerr defended Pachulia’s effort, even saying some of the rebounding disparity had to do with some long bounces off the rim.
“The Spurs came out like they were ready to roll,” Kerr said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Although Pachulia likely won’t draw the defensive assignment of superstar Anthony Davis, how the Warriors perform in the post — on both offense and defense — will be under close watch Friday night.
While applauding Kerr for always staying so level-headed, Pachulia should have a little bit more pressure to perform in game No. 2 on the road. The Warriors won’t be getting Andrew Bogut out of the center position, but they need to craft some type of role where Pachulia can contribute.
The Pelicans surround Davis with a lot of guards and their big men off the bench include Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca — hardly an imposing duo. Pachulia could find himself switched onto longtime Rockets power forward Terrence Jones. The 32-year-old has to prove he’s flexible on defense, and tonight really isn’t that hard of a test.
Because if Pachulia does struggle again, he’s setting himself up to be an early season scapegoat. Kerr will start hearing cries for JaVale McGee and Kevon Looney to see increased playing time instead of the garbage time roles they were limited to on Tuesday.