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With Jimmy Butler out as he recovers from a deep glute contusion, rookie center Quinten Post got his first playoff start as the Golden State Warriors hosted the Houston Rockets in Game 3 at Chase Center on Saturday night.
Post has been a revelation for the Warriors this season with his elite 3-point shooting from the center position, yet it was far from an efficient offensive night for the seven-footer who finished with just two points on 1-of-7 from the floor and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Quinten Post made an impact with his defense and rebounding in Game 3
Despite the shooting struggles, Post still made a positive impact for Golden State in a 104-93 victory that gives them a 2-1 series lead. The 25-year-old’s rebounding and defense have been significant limitations that’s prevented him from even more playing time in his rookie season, but on Saturday night it was those elements that actually got him to 27 minutes.
Post entered Game 3 with a career-high of nine rebounds — achieved back on March 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Additionally, he’d had just three total rebounds through the first two games of this series, having been thrown around a little bit by the more physical and experienced Steven Adams.
Yet Post responded with a major statement in Game 3, going for a career-high 12 rebounds that included three on the offensive end that resulted in six Warrior points thanks to a pair of threes from Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield.
Really gotta show Post some more love man he was god awful shooting but he was an absolute dog tonight.
https://twitter.com/nikotaughtyou/status/1916332858974622205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1916332858974622205%7Ctwgr%5E92f15e6356a868476c5ddeba6bd2742ac347d6a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbluemanhoop.com%2Fwarriors-get-colossal-quinten-post-development-major-playoff-implications
Quinten Post is basically at his career-high in minutes. He’s been as good as could be hoped defensively and on the boards.
\https://twitter.com/NateDuncanNBA/status/1916324145018900649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1916324145018900649%7Ctwgr%5E92f15e6356a868476c5ddeba6bd2742ac347d6a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbluemanhoop.com%2Fwarriors-get-colossal-quinten-post-development-major-playoff-implications
Post’s rebounding was a crucial element after Golden State had been beaten on the boards 98-78 over the first two games, including 26-17 on the offensive glass. Yet it was his defense that was arguably more impressive, with the 52nd overall pick using his size and length on that end in a way that’s been scarcely seen this season.
Part of that can be credited to Steve Kerr who smartly had Post guarding Amen Thompson for the majority of his minutes. They were happy for the young Rockets forward to take whatever jump-shot/floater he wanted from the free-throw line and beyond, but once Thompson drove Post was there to contest without fouling.
The result? Thompson had 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the floor and was a -9 in just under 37 minutes. According to defense tracking, Houston players were 6-of-16 (37.5%) when guarded by Post, including 3-of-9 (33.3%) from less than 10 feet.
It was perhaps Post’s best defensive and rebounding performance of his career, having come at an incredibly important time in a big playoff game. If he can provide that on a more consistent basis, it could be a major development for the Warriors and allow Kerr to play his young big man far more over the remainder of the playoffs and moving forward.
