Brandin Podziemski giving Warriors needed intensity bump since return – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

SAN FRANCISCO – With the Warriors stumbling in circles over the past couple months, it is apparent they need some assistance. Maybe it starts with someone willing to grab them and try to pull them from the Western Conference swamp.

The youngest among them is impetuous enough to embrace the job.

Brandin Podziemski, who turns 22 next month, brought a conspicuous and contagious energy Tuesday night. Urgent in his movements and emphatic in his instructions, he came off the bench and lit the fuse that sent the Warriors to a 114-103 victory over a diluted version of the rebuilding Utah Jazz.

On a night when Dennis Schröder overcame an injury scare to submit his most productive game as a Warrior – team-high 23 points, five rebounds, four assists – it was Podziemski’s effervescent presence that roused Golden State into action.

“Brandin looks really strong and sharp and determined,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He was fantastic tonight. It’s exciting to see. It’s what he expected from the start this season, and obviously things started slowly for him. But he’s really looking like himself now.”

With Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga sidelined, the Warriors moseyed through the first six minutes, allowing the Jazz to build a seven-point lead. That’s when Kerr turned to his bench, summoning Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II and Podziemski.

The change in energy and effectiveness was immediate. Utah, on pace to drop 40 points in 12 minutes, suddenly looked every bit like a team missing four of its top six scorers. It took less than four minutes for a Podziemski 3-pointer to give the Warriors their first lead.

Podz fakes and nails the 3 pic.twitter.com/tMmvpJIlr0

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 29, 2025

Podziemski’s fingerprints were all over a sizzling nine minutes spanning the first and second quarters when the Warriors asserted themselves. They outscored the Jazz 20-4 during that stretch, with him either scoring or assisting on 14 of those 20 points.

For his 33 minutes, Podziemski posted a plus-19 while producing 20 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, including 4 of 11 from beyond the arc, as well as seven rebounds, a team-high six assists and one steal.

“What we need is what you saw tonight,” Kerr said. “The energy, the passing, the connecting. Long rebounds, loose balls.”

These things, along with Podziemski’s aggressive nature, matter because the Warriors benefit from that pluck. It’s allowed because he already has gained entry into Golden State’s leadership club, given license by Green last season – when Podziemski was a rookie.

“It’s just his personality,” Looney said of Podziemski. “He’s a talkative guy. I don’t know what word I would use … but he could be an a-hole sometimes. But as a point guard, you want that in your point guard. Dennis is like that. They’re going to push guys’ buttons and get under guys’ skin. But you need that toughness out there.”

Podziemski doesn’t run from the status. One minute, he’s gesturing Schröder to pick up the pace, the next he is literally shoving Gui Santos into defensive position. It’s as if on the day the Warriors announced the jersey retirement of Andre Iguodala, Podziemski studied some Iguodala video on subtle and overt ways that lead to success.

“His swagger is part of what makes him who he is,” Kerr said.

“I learned that I’m very capable with whatever role I’m asked to do,” Podziemski said. “And I can raise the bar for myself a lot more than what I’m doing right now. As time goes on, I’m going to contribute and be better as a teammate, as a player, everything, all around.”

The Warriors need every edge they can find. Know that Podziemski, revived after missing 12 games with an injury, will bring his every time he is called.

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