Yaxel Lendeborg made his NBA preseason debut for the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. The message from his teammates and coaches afterward was simple: be more aggressive.
Lendeborg’s Preseason Debut for the Warriors
Lendeborg started at small forward in the 104-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He played alongside Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford and Brandin Podziemski. The rookie logged 19 minutes and scored four points on 1-of-6 shooting. He also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and dished three assists.
His first points came on a corner three in rhythm. He took five more shots after that and missed them all. The Warriors are not concerned. They do not want the misses to hurt his confidence.
Kerr Points to One Play as a Teaching Moment
Head coach Steve Kerr pointed to a play early in the third quarter. Lendeborg ran the floor, out-jumped his defender and snatched a pass out of the air. He had a clear path to a layup or a foul. Instead, he tried to force a pass to Charles Bassey under the basket. The result was a turnover and a Clippers three.
“Yaxel was good,” Kerr said, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “We need him to be more aggressive.” He was blunt about the play. “That’s got to be a layup,” Kerr said. “We need Yaxel to have an aggressive scoring mentality and that’s something we want to work with him on, because he can make plays and he can score.”
Curry Offers Advice From His Own Rookie Year
Curry framed the message in a positive way. He said young players have to balance aggression with accepting mistakes. “The balance for a young guy who’s expected to have an impact is to walk that fine line of aggressiveness but being OK knowing you’re going to make mistakes and not get deflated and to move on to the next play,” Curry said. “But we don’t want anything passive, and I think he’s been answering that call early.”
Curry used his own career as an example. “It’s not going to be perfect. He’s going to make mistakes,” Curry said. “Similar to my rookie year, I got to play through that stuff early.”
Really insightful breakdown in his full answer
Why the Warriors Need Lendeborg to Attack
Lendeborg has a feel for the game that reminds the team of Jimmy Butler. His passing showed up Sunday, including two well-run pick-and-rolls with Bassey. But Butler is out for at least a few more months while he recovers from a torn ACL. The Warriors need Lendeborg to use his 6-foot-9, 241-pound frame as a scorer.
It is still early. Lendeborg is five practices and one preseason game into his NBA career. The Warriors are giving him room to learn, and a coaching staff asking for more aggression is a good problem to have.
Warriors’ Stephen Curry Sends Strong Message to Yaxel Lendeborg After Debut