James Wiseman a unique talent and key to Golden State Warriors' success, says BJ Armstrong
James Wiseman is expected to be among the contenders for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award this season.
Saturday 23 January 2021 06:23, UK
Few knew quite what to expect from the Golden State Warriors as they entered the new campaign flaunting the return of Stephen Curry's generational talent while also patching up their wounds on the back of another season-ending Klay Thompson injury.
The results have been mixed. The Warriors have fallen to two of the best the Eastern Conference has to offer in the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, just about crept past a young Chicago Bulls team, lost heavily to the Portland Trail Blazers before later enacting revenge, and shared the spoils with the Los Angeles Clippers over two games, the latter of which saw them overturn a 22-point deficit.
On Monday night they came from 19 points down against the Los Angeles Lakers to win 115-113 on LeBron James' missed three-pointer at the horn, a week after losing to the Denver Nuggets, whose own inconsistency is perhaps a sign of where Golden State are at.
Having perceived the comeback against the Lakers as more a reflection of the champions contently coasting to the playoffs, three-time NBA champion BJ Armstrong has highlighted the man he deems capable of turning such a result into a legitimate reason for optimism.
"Now there's one player I think can propel them to be a team that can battle like against the Lakers and come out with a victory and to a team that we're saying 'okay this team could make some serious noise' and that's James Wiseman," said Armstrong on Heatcheck.
"James Wiseman has the ability to be what we consider in this league to be an advantage player. He's athletic, he can shoot, he can block shots, he can run court, he has great hands, he has all of these things.
"If this young man can score anything between 15 and 20 points per game this team will be in the playoffs. Why do I say that? It's because James Wiseman has the capability to be a star in this league."
Wiseman is averaging 11.4 points and six rebounds through 15 games so far this season after being selected with the No 2 overall pick at November's Draft.
He made an early statement with 19-point and 18-point performances against the Nets and Bucks, respectively, across the opening two games of the season, before posting his maiden double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in January's 137-122 win over the Blazers.
On Wednesday he logged a career-best 20 points as the Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, followed by 15 in Thursday night's defeat to the New York Knicks.
The return of Draymond Green from an injury that kept him out of the opening weeks has provided Wiseman with an ideal mentor as the Warriors seek to exploit his impressive agility and athleticism at seven-feet tall, with the TV cameras having captured the veteran dishing out advice to his younger colleague on more than one occasion over the past three games.
"The LA Lakers are now on cruise, they're just cruising," continued Armstrong. "They play, they're up 15/16, LeBron is passing the ball, they're like 'can we just get through the season without getting hurt so we can get to the playoffs?'
"That's what this is all about right now for the Lakers. So I'm not going to put a lot of stock into this game because if this was a series they could get four and out, that's just what it is.
"James Wiseman is the key to all of this. That kid there, the better he is the better that franchise is going to be because if James Wiseman can play the game at a level and just be an athlete, provide energy every night, get alley-oops from Draymond.
"We know what Draymond Green can do, Draymond is a human organiser, he organises the game, he may not have the greatest of stats but the game is entirely organised, he knows where everyone is at on the offensive end and defensive end, that's what he does, he plays winning basketball."
The Warriors sit seventh in the Western Conference with an 8-7 record on the back of their defeat to the Knicks as they prepare to take on the in-form Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
Curry is currently averaging a team-high 28.1 points per game alongside 5.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists, followed by Andrew Wiggins with 17.8 points per game. Wiseman's average of six rebounds per game is bettered only by Marquese Chriss, who has managed 6.5 across his two outings so far this season.
"If they can get that man Mr Wiseman out there playing, he gives them 15/20 points, this is going to be an interesting team because they will have a player not many players can matchup with," said Armstrong.
"He's a very unique talent what he's doing at seven feet. I think he is a star. I really like what I see."
