Takeaways from Warriors' Win Over Nets: Santos' Importance Has Surpassed Podz's

The Golden State Warriors rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-106 on Wednesday at Chase Center.

Golden State (35-38) overcame 26 turnovers by shooting 53 percent and winning the rebounding battle 43-27.

Gui Santos had a career-high 31 points, while Ziaire Williams paced the Nets (17-56) with 19.

Here are two takeaways from Wednesday's game.

Santos' Importance to the Warriors Has Surpassed Podz's

Brandin Podziemski and Santos are clearly the two best healthy players on the Warriors who are under 27. They are both just 23 years old.

It's fair to question who is the better player right now. But that's not really what this subhead is about.

It's much more about the void Santos fills.

The Warrios have been desperate for a big wing scorer, and they finally have one in Santos. He had a career-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting Wednesday, and several of his buckets were downhill attacks that Nets defenders couldn't handle.

With about five minutes to go, Santos made a running lefty layup that showed his improving skill set. With about two minutes left, Santos got early post position and simply overpowered Ben Saraf for an easy two. Right after the ball went in the hoop, you could see Saraf was frustrated that a double-team didn't come.

This version of Santos should pair exceptionally well with Stephen Curry and give defenses major issues.

Podz is valuable in his own right, but the Warriors have done a pretty good job finding decent 2-guards over the last few years. Even if they lose De'Anthony Melton in the offseason, they'll have Will Richard capable of big minutes if Podz isn't available. And let's not forget Moses Moody, who can play the 2 or 3 when healthy, which will hopefully be by midseason next year.

But if Santos isn't available next season, they will have no one to replace him.

That makes him more valuable to the Warriors, and it also makes his three-year, $15 million extension one of the best moves of the season.

Porzingis Is Being Overexposed on Offense

Kristaps Porzingis gives the Warriors a variety of things they need, including a mid-post scorer, a roll threat on pick-and-rolls and a talented three-point shooter.

But as a No. 1 option, he's getting exposed.

Against the Nets, Porzingis had 17 points, but he also had six turnovers.

Overall, Warriors starters committed 21 of the 26 turnovers, so it wasn't all on Porzingis. But the offense simply looked like a mess, as it has for most of the last several games.

It's not clear if the Warriors have a better solution than going to Porzingis so much. Perhaps Santos can have a higher usage in every game, but he's not exactly built for top-option usage either.

Of course, having Stephen Curry would solve this, but it's not clear if Curry is coming back this season.

In any event, Porzingis' struggles Wednesday were disappointing. You'd hope he'd be able to dominate a team as beat up as the Nets are.

The Warriors need him to play better moving forward.