Warriors continue to emanate positive vibes, blast Jazz by 41 points

SALT LAKE CITY With 3:24 left and the Golden State Warriors up 30 on the Utah Jazz , Warriors reserve guard Brandin Podziemski picked up his dribble on a spin about eight feet from the hoop and proceeded to execute a four-pivot combination, gliding into a sweeping righty hook.

It was a move straight out of the 1970s.

Here is the sequence.

Thirty seconds later, a whistle led to an automatic timeout.

During the break, Stephen Curry went out to the spot that Podziemski executed the move and spent two minutes recreating it with any teammate who wanted to discuss the mechanics.

Trayce Jackson-Davis said they were debating whether it was a travel.

Curry said he came to the conclusion it was a legal move.

Podziemski said Curry came up to him afterward to figure out the exact footwork.

He was smooth with it, Curry said.

Thats not easy to do.

Steph Curry spent the last timeout trying to figure out how exactly Brandin Podziemski got to that right hand hook shot a few minutes prior pic.twitter.com/Evk90MDk3t Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 26, 2024 That glimpse, which captured about half of Currys recreation, exemplifies the early-season vibe of this 2-0 Warriors team.

They just beat the Portland Trail Blazers 140-104 in Portland and the Jazz 127-86 in Utah, a cumulative 77-point two-game margin, becoming the first team in NBA history to win its first two games by at least 35 points.

Advertisement That lack of competition has allowed Curry and Draymond Green to rest the entire fourth quarter of both games.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr is not only going 12-deep in his rotation, but hes been able to spread the minute allotment pretty evenly.

Everyone is getting at least 13.

Nobody has played more than 27.

They have 151 bench points.

No other team has more than 113.

This low-stress, everyone contributes success coming on the heels of a dominant 6-0 preseason has led to a celebratory bench and locker room vibe, giving off the early impression that this teams chemistry is at an all-time high.

Buddy Hield is at the center of it.

The Warriors found a way to rope him into their final remaining cap space this summer and plugged him in as an instant offense high-volume bench shooter, believing he was at a stage of his career to embrace that type of role in an offense fitted for his skill.

It has gone perfectly through two games.

Hield scored 22 points in 15 minutes in the opener and followed that up with a 24-point first half in Utah, finishing with 27.

In all, he has 49 points in his 35 minutes this season, making 12 of his 16 3s and, when not shooting the lights out, hes been cracking up his teammates on the bench and in the locker room with off-the-wall comments and reactions.

Hes just an incredible person, Kerr said.

Full of joy.

Bench is always laughing with him.

Buddy Hield said he studied the hell out of Steph Curry for years, now picks his shooting brain as a teammate: He has a great arc on his ball.

Thats what Ive been working on.

Full soundbite pic.twitter.com/Xn0Y56DFhm Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 25, 2024 Hield is thriving in transition and has also flashed a bit of higher-level playmaking than his reputation would suggest.

He had six assists against the Jazz and two of them were of the highlight variety the first, a creative drive and throwback to the spot he just vacated for an Andrew Wiggins 3, the next, a lefty missile through traffic to Curry for a wing 3.

Here they are: Among the many other positive developments: Wiggins appears engaged.

He had 13 rebounds in 23 minutes, typically the best sign of his activity level.

Trayce Jackson-Davis looks strong to open his second season.

He hasnt missed any of his 11 shots.

Moses Moody is scoring at volume in his brief court time.

Draymond Green was great on Lauri Markkanen (4-of-17 shooting) and DeAnthony Melton , Kyle Anderson and Gary Payton II have all been part of a strong defensive start.

Advertisement The overall athleticism of this team jumps out at me, Kerr said.

We didnt have that last year.

On-ball pressure, adding DeAnthony and a healthy Gary.

Wiggs and ( Jonathan Kuminga ) are just big and athletic.

Kyle is an incredible defender.

But the two-game stampede hasnt been without its flaws and lingering questions.

The most obvious is the starting lineup.

Kerr is attempting to force-fit a big group that has Kuminga, Wiggins, Green and Jackson-Davis out there with Curry.

They went down 13-6 in Utah after falling down 12-5 in Portland.

Were gonna keep going with it, Kerr said.

Its obviously not ideal from a spacing standpoint, so theyre going to have to find their rhythm and how to play.

Were going to have to help them with actions.

But the whole point of it is for defensive purposes.

Kuminga in particular has struggled, unable to get a clean runway to the rim without the necessary space and unable to translate his preseason success as a shooter into the regular season.

He has only 12 points in two games and is 4 of 13 from the field.

But that lineup blasted off in the second half to a 22-10 start, putting the game out of reach.

They had a similarly effective third quarter run in Portland, led by Greens defense.

In all, that group is plus-three in 22 minutes.

That unit is still learning how to play (together), Green said.

We didnt have Wiggins all training camp ...

Now this lineup is getting a chance to get minutes together.

What youll start to see if we will start to settle in offensively.

Were coming out in the first quarter and everyone is trying to get to it: Go.

Go.

Go.

Because we want that lineup to do well so bad.

Everyone is coming out pressing.

But once we settle down, that lineup takes over.

Draymond Green on the big starting group with him, TJD, Kuminga and Wiggins: We want that lineup to do well so bad that everyone is coming out pressing.

Once we settle down, that lineup takes over.

pic.twitter.com/FzZ1AU5M4Y Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 26, 2024 The other looming question concerns these rosy vibes.

Everyone is typically happy when youre blowing teams out by 40 points and everyone is getting requisite minutes and statistical opportunity.

But tough games, losses and difficult rotation choices are coming, which will better test the true camaraderie of this team.

Advertisement Thats our job as coaches, Kerr said.

Thats on the veteran players Draymond, Steph, Kyle, Melt, Loon.

Theres going to be times for sure that its not as much fun, were not winning these games and everyones not playing 15 minutes or more.

We know thats coming.

The message is stuff happens.

Theres injuries.

Theres lulls.

Theres lineup changes.

We all just have to be in it together.

Green expressed a similar sentiment.

Were all for each other.

We all have a common goal to create a special team that can do special things, he said.

The minutes wont go everybodys way every night.

I wouldve loved to play more minutes the last two nights.

It is what it is.

Just roll with it.

We have great guys in that locker room.

Thats credit to Mike Dunleavy and the job hes done putting the group together .

You dont have many whiners in that locker room.

That makes a big difference.

(Top photo of Buddy Hield and Steph Curry: Noah Graham / NBAE via Getty Images).

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