Rookie Bell displaying freakish skills
The ball bounced off the rim, and Warriors center Zaza Pachulia went up for the easy putback.
Suddenly somebody was in his way. It wasn’t an opponent. It was a teammate. Rookie forward Jordan Bell leaped from the other side of the basket, moved Pachulia to the side and threw down a left-handed dunk.
“No respect,” Pachula said with mock resentment after the Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 117-106 in the final preseason tuneup Friday night.
The good-natured ribbing continued on Twitter.
“Rook,” Pachulia wrote, “you are so disrespectful stilling (sic) points and a rebound from the vet.”
Amid the fun lies an intriguing question? If Bell — with his freakish athleticism, strong timing and 6-foot-9, 224-pound frame — can steal a basket from a teammate, what can he do in the heat of battle against an actual foe.
Bell offered more highlight reels and a substantial body of work that suggest he could climb up the Warriors depth chart faster than expected.
With Draymond Green out due to an apparent back strain, Bell got his first NBA start and delivered 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in 24 minutes. Green will be back Tuesday for the season opener against Houston, but Bell could find himself ahead of Kevon Looney and Damian Jones in the rotation.
“Jordan will get his chance,” coach Steve Kerr said.
“He’s going to be a really good pro.
At the same time, Kerr offered cautionary perspective about the regular season, saying “the game gets a lot harder.”
But after acquiring Bell in a draft-day trade from Chicago at 38th overall, the Warriors have seen Bell quickly excel. The secret to his success?
“I just go out there with the mindset of WWDD — What would Draymond Do?” Bell cracked. “I saw that on Twitter.”
Turning serious, Bell said Green tells him what to do in certain situations.. Bell said Green will point out mistakes when he makes them. Bell also credited Green for letting him learn some things on his own.
Bell lamented the turnover he made Friday night and accused himself of being lackadaisical with the ball.” But he also, in his own words “brought a lot of energy.
“I come out and play my game and play my role,” Bell said. “I know I’m not the number one option on the team. Probably not. I’m like the fifth option, no matter who I’m out there with.”
Friday night, with Kevin Durant and Andre Igoudala also in street clothes, Bell was out there with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Pachulia. He started the game rotating over to block a shot from Sacramento guard Buddy Hield. Bell caught one of Thompson’s passes and finished with a reverse layup. Later he made a swing pass that reminded Kerr of Green.
“He has a feel and he has knack for the ball when it goes up. He seems to be in the right place at the right time. He’s a good passer,” Kerr said. “We play our offense a lot through the elbows. He fits our style. He catches the ball there. He makes good reads. He can make a backdoor pass.”
After listing all those various attributes, Kerr summed up, “He’s got real awareness and athleticism to go with it. It’s a good combination.”
And it sounds like it’s a combination the Warriors will rely on despite their bloated roster.
“I think he’ll be a big part of this team,” Pachulia said, “especially with his ability to guard smaller guys and bigger guys as well being a strong athletic guy that runs, blocks shots and rebounding. It’s going to be crucial for us. He brings something different that we need as a team.”