Takeaways from Warriors' Win Over Wizards: Dubs Trio Has Dominant Net Rating

Behind 28 points from Kristaps Porzingis and 27 points from Gui Santos, the Golden State Warriors edged the Washington Wizards 131-126 on Friday at Chase Center.

Brandin Podziemski (22), Gary Payton II (15), Pat Spencer (13) and LJ Cryer (12) also scored in double figures for the Dubs (36-38).

Will Riley paced the Wizards (17-56) with 22 points.

Here are two takeaways from Friday's game.

Lineups with Santos, Porzingis and Podz Have a Dominant Net Rating

The Warriors turned a five-point fourth-quarter deficit into a five-point win, which is impressive even with the context that the Wizards are a) a bad team and b) didn't play four of their five starters down the stretch.

But what's more impressive is how dominant the Santos-Porzingis-Podz lineups this season.

In 213 possessions, lineups with that trio have a plus-11.3 net rating, per Cleaning the Glass.

Their chemistry was on full display down the stretch.

First, Porzinigs hit a mid-range jumper, simply shooting over a smaller defender. Next, the defense crowded Porzingis, so he passed it to Santos in the opposite corner for a three.

Next, the Warriors ran split actoin with Porzingis as the screener, and considering Porzingis was having a big game, his defender didn't step up at all, giving Podz a wide-open three.

Admittedly, the sample size for this trio's lineups still isn't that big. It's about 102 minutes over 10 games.

But it's not insignificant either.

And what's most promising is Santos and Podz are under contract next season and Porzingis seems likely to be back after he praised Rick Celebrini.

These three players will likely be on the court a lot next season with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. That's a decent five-man lineup that would be even better with a healthy Jimmy Butler inserted for Green.

Dunleavy Deserves Credit for Cryer Two-Way

LJ Cryer had 12 points on four threes and was a game-high plus-11. He continues to impress with his toughness on defense, his feel for getting open on offense and of course his excellent shooting stroke.

Cryer is 30-of-69 from three this season. That's not a fluke. Anyone who shoots that well should have a role in the NBA, and fortuantely for the Warriors, Cryer is signed through next season on his two-way contract.

Whether he signs a standard contract in the next few months or the Warriors keep him on his two-way until deep into next season before converting his contract, Cryer should be on the team at least through 2026-27, and I'd wager that the team will give him a multiyear contract that keeps in the Bay much longer.

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. deserves credit for finding Cryer.

It's easy to overlook a 24-year-old rookie who is just 6'0" tall and doesn't have traditional point guard passing skills.

But Dunleavy and the Golden State front office saw past that, and now the Warriors have a rotation guard for cheap for at least the next season.