Why Warriors Made Correct Decision Benching Podziemski in 4th Quarter vs. 76ers

Brandin Podziemski is in a funk.

In Thursday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Podz was just 2-of-8 from the floor. But not all misses are created equal, and some of his were alarming.

But it wasn't just poor shooting that stood out.

Let's go deeper to see why Steve Kerr made the decision to not play him for the last 19 minutes of the game.

Shooting Woes

Normally I wouldn't write a whole section on a player missing six shots, but in this case, it feels warranted.

Podz's first miss was a slightly contested three that rimmed out—nothing to critique here. His second miss was a corner three that he airballed.

His third miss was a pull-up three early in the shot clock that was well long. His fourth miss was a corner three that barely ticked iron it was so long.

His fifth miss was a warm-up wide-open three that rimmed out. His final miss was a floater that hit all backboard. That's right, it missed the rim entirely.

Woof.

Podz's season-long percentages (43.6 FG%, 37.8 3PT%) are not bad, but on nights when he doesn't have it, you can't blame Kerr for looking for someone who does.

Struggling with Traditional Point Guard Responsibilities

Podz got the start at point guard, but he finished the game with zero assists and three turnovers.

That tells most of the story, but you can dive a bit deeper by checking potential assists on NBA.com.

A potential assist is defined as "any pass to a teammate who shoots within one dribble of receiving the ball." Among Warriors guards who played at least 20 minutes on Thursday, Podz tied for the least potential assists.

- Pat Spencer, 8
- Buddy Hield, 7
- De'Anthony Melton, 6
- Moses Moody, 5
- Will Richard, 3
- Brandin Podziemski, 3

Podz doesn't have the ideal skill set to play traditional point guard–namely, ball-handling and a quick burst—so it's not a surprise he struggled. Still, he's capable of getting into the paint and making good reads to set up teammates.

But he hasn't done as much of that this season. His assist average is down to a career-low 2.9.

Spencer, Other Guards Were Outplaying Podz

Sometimes, the plus-minus says it all.

Pat Spencer was a plus-17 in his 24 minutes. Podz was a minus-20.

Spencer has been outplaying Podz for a while now. In the three games that Spencer has had at least 20 minutes since mid-November, Spencer's averages are 14.7 points, 7.7 assists and 1.0 turnover, and he's shooting 51.4 percent in those games.

In Podz's last eight games, he's averaging 12.9 points, 2.5 assists, 1.8 turnovers and 40.2 percent shooting in 27.3 minutes per game.

Of course, Podz plays more 2-guard than point anyway, so he could've checked back in and played beside Spencer. But De'Anthony Melton and Buddy Hield were outplaying Podz as well, so there wasn't room for another guard.

The results were staggering. The Warriors erased an 18-point deficit and took a four-point lead with 1:12 to go.

Though they didn't hold on in the final moments, Kerr made the right choice going away from Podz.

Final Thoughts

Podz's defense was not an issue. He spent almost all of his minutes guarding VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes off the ball, so he was rarely involved at the point of attack.

So this benching was all about his offense.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Kuminga was also benched for the fourth quarter. I wrote about his fourth-quarter benching against the Thunder on Tuesday. I didn't want to belabor those same points, but to put it simply, Kerr made the right decision benching him Thursday.

The Warriors will be without Stephen Curry for the next two games, and it's become clear they should start Spencer at point guard in that span.

When the Warriors have a healthy Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, they won't have as big of a need for a traditional backup point guard like Spencer. Curry, Butler and Green provide enough playmaking that some of Spencer's skills would be redundant.

They'll always have a need for Podz's skills as a rebounder, secondary creator and three-pointer shooter. They need him to get out of this funk, but until he does, his minutes should be reduced.