TJD’s newfound fury offers Warriors much needed optimism originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area<\/em><\/p>\nSAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Even as the Warriors have spent the past six weeks crawling through darkness with only occasional flickers of light, there is one object that seems to shine a little brighter each game.<\/p>\n
Trayce Jackson-Davis is the emerging shiny object. Passive at times earlier this season, the second-year center is raising his game in real time, trending from occasional highlight creator to frequent force.<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-9 product of Indiana University suddenly is a more consistent menace in the paint on offense and on defense. He is more assertive with his physicality. It\u2019s as if TJD has studied Kevon Looney\u2019s hard-hat approach but is using superior athleticism to fortify it.<\/p>\n
Jackson-Davis, 24, level of fury lately makes him considerably more effective. Moreover, that growing dawg<\/em> is something the Warriors \u2013 a relatively subdued bunch with the notable exception of Draymond Green \u2013 desperately need to have any chance of competing with the NBA elite.<\/p>\n\u201cI’ll fight with him every day if I have to, to make sure that he gets that,\u201d player development coach Anthony Vereen joked Saturday during an appearance on \u2018Coaches Show\u2019 with Golden State radio broadcaster Tim Roye.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he’s learning how to be a pro. And real pros don’t need to be angry. That’s just the standard that they have to play with. I think that’s what he’s learning in a year two, that this is how he has to play every game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since reentering Golden State\u2019s starting lineup on Dec. 21, Jackson-Davis is averaging 14.0 points, on 66-percent shooting from the field, along with nine rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 blocks. He\u2019s threatening to become the first Warriors center to average a double-double since Andris Biedrin\u0161 in 2009-10.<\/p>\n
For months \u2013 no, years \u2013 observers inside and outside the Dub Nation bubble have made a reasonable plea for the Warriors, the shortest team in the league, to add a \u201cbig man.\u201d Jackson-Davis is making a case to lower the volume.<\/p>\n
Coach Steve Kerr, who has resisted voicing a need for more size, is gratified with TJD\u2019s recent surge and believes it is sustainable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s his second year, so he’s figuring out the league,\u201d Kerr said Saturday night after Golden State\u2019s 109-105 win over the Phoenix Suns. \u201cHe’s understanding angles and, defensively, what he needs to do where he needs to be. He\u2019s rebounding better. Four blocked shots tonight. The biggest thing is on offense is his threat as a dive man to the rim, a lob threat. It opens up the offense, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selected by the Warriors in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft (No. 57 overall), Jackson-Davis is climbing toward the ceiling the team envisioned the moment he arrived in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n
Though he remains undersize when compared to such mastodons as Denver\u2019s Nikola Joki\u0107, Philadelphia\u2019s Joel Embiid and the rising force that is Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers, TJD is inching closer to being a quality alternative at center while sharing the position with the 6-foot-6 Green and the 6-foot-9 Looney.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just gives us another tool that we don’t normally have,\u201d Vereen said of Jackson-Davis. \u201cHe’s a big, he’s a lob threat, he’s a shot blocker, and he has that youth on his side where he can really, really play fast. When he’s in the pocket, when he’s creating advantages for us, and then he can go finish the play above the rim. That’s just another level to what we could become and who we need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a crucial moment that stood out as the Warriors were making their fourth-quarter comeback against the Suns. With 29 seconds remaining, Golden State holding a 106-105 and Phoenix gaining possession, Kerr made a defensive substitution: Curry out, Jackson-Davis in. The Suns got the ball to Kevin Durant, who missed a 12-foot fadeaway defended by Green. The ball was loose, but not for long.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was happy with the contest that I got, but (happier) with the fight that Trayce and Dennis (Schr\u00f6der) had to come up with that rebound,\u201d Green said. \u201cBecause we’ve gotten stops like this in the past and just haven’t been able to come up with the ball. And Trayce and Dennis came (up with it), Trayce first having it and then Dennis coming up with that loose ball. That was the key. The stop was great. That’s cool. That’s what I\u2019m supposed to do. But the way those guys came up with that loose ball was the play. It wasn’t necessarily me making him miss the shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson-Davis might not have dived into the scrum three weeks ago for was ruled a \u201cteam rebound.\u201d He might not have been in the game.<\/p>\n
That he was on the court in the final seconds testifies to Kerr\u2019s trust. That TJD made an impact with the game at stake testifies to how far he has raised his game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Warriors center Trayce Jackson-Davis’ recent surge has been a silver lining during Golden State’s struggles after its hot start to the 2024-25 NBA season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":22035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n
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