LAIE, Hawaii – The Warriors dialed back the physical intensity on Friday, shifting focus toward intentionality on the campus of BYU-Hawaii. After a grueling scrimmage on Thursday, the team spent the day breaking down film and jogging through offensive actions. Coach Steve Kerr noted that the team needed a lighter, more focused day to prep for the preseason opener Sunday.
The main theme on the tape? Fixing the transition game. The Warriors scored the fourth-fewest points in transition last season, ranking near the absolute bottom of the league in transition efficiency. Kerr is over the chaotic, turnover-prone style of play from last year. He’s pushing a spaced, organized offense where players are in sync. “We can’t play out of chaos anymore,” Kerr emphasized. The goal is to stop giving away easy points during the 48 minutes and execute cleanly.
But the biggest buzz at camp isn’t the X’s and O’s—it’s the speed of Brandon Williams. Kerr says Williams is the fastest player he’s ever coached in Golden State, drawing comparisons to Leandro Barbosa, though Williams is more of a high pick-and-roll operator than an off-ball blur. Georges Niang perfectly dubbed him the ‘Road Runner,’ joking that as a guy who moves ‘from slow to slower,’ he appreciates how fast Williams gets. Gui Santos laughed, agreeing that once Williams picks a side, he’s nearly impossible to stop. His explosive speed, combined with his ability to score or create, gives the second unit a massive offensive lift.
Then there’s Georges Niang, aka ‘Minivan.’ After missing last season to injury, Niang is embracing any role that gets him on the court. Kerr has him playing small-ball center alongside the speedy second unit. It’s not going to offer traditional rim protection, but offensively, it’s lethal. Niang brings spacing, experience, and a career-high average of 9.9 points per game with solid shooting from deep. Kerr loves the versatility, noting that as long as you surround Niang with the right defensive group, the ‘Minivan’ package is a highly viable weapon.
