VJ Edgecombe thwarts Warriors’ Pat Spencer-led comeback attempt

The Golden State Warriors were quite literally less than a second away from completing a scrappy 24-point comeback on the road, without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler and with Draymond Green having left with a right foot injury. The Dubs were nine-tenths of a second away from walking out of Philadelphia with a win led by two-way player Pat Spencer’s 12 fourth-quarter points and a game-high plus-17 plus/minus.

That is, until 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe soared in from the corner to put-back Tyrese Maxey’s miss and hand Golden State a 99-98 loss. The loss marked the Warriors’ twelfth of the season, a heartbreaker given the fight of the Dubs’ reserves as the bench mob combined for 67 of the Warriors’ 98 points without some key starters. After the game, coach Steve Kerr was proud of his players’ fight despite falling short on the comeback.

“The effort tonight was phenomenal,” Kerr said. “Thought we really deserved to win. I feel terrible for the guys that we couldn’t hang on. Because of the effort, the energy, the commitment.”

It looked like another one of those Warriors games in which they were doomed to lose because of the lack of offensive creation without Curry or Butler. But Spencer came alive, building off his strong performance the previous game, sparking the Dubs’ offense with his pick-and-roll game.

“Pat got us into our offense and got downhill on pick and roll and distributed the ball,” Kerr explained. “Pat was just incredible out there and controlled the game.”

Spencer hit a huge 3-pointer to put Golden State up 98-94 with just over a minute left in the game. But the Warriors immediately gave up an and-one to Quentin Grimes and couldn’t get the ball inbounded properly on the subsequent possession, leading to their demise.

Bad night for the Warriors’ “Second Timeline”

For as inspiring as Spencer and the rest of the reserves’ comeback attempt was, the performances of Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski weren’t exactly pretty. In 20 minutes apiece, Kuminga and Podziemski finished with a team low minus-18 and minus-20 plus/minus, respectively, and three turnovers each.

Neither player could find a rhythm offensively, as the Dubs’ pace looked stagnant and slow when they were on the court. And neither player was on the floor during the Warriors’ fourth-quarter comeback.

It was one of those nights that makes you question the ceiling of the Warriors’ past first-rounders. Those are the guys that the Dubs are counting on when Curry and Butler are out, whether it be due to injury or load management. That was the understanding entering this season – the Warriors’ success would hinge on how the young core could play when their older, aging stars were out.

But at 11-12 on the season, with Curry, Butler, and potentially Green out for at least the short-term, it’s hard to have faith in those former first-rounders to carry the torch in the long-term. Especially when it was as clear as day that Kerr’s decision to close the game without either of them was, unequivocally, the right basketball move.

Kerr downplayed his answer when a reporter asked about his decision not to close with Kuminga, Podziemski, or Moody. He cited it being the other guys’ night and the depth of the team. Regardless, it’s troubling that the second timeline couldn’t score in the absence of the core stars.

The two-way contract conundrum with Pat Spencer

Pat Spencer’s impressive night in Philly wasn’t surprising for anyone who’s been paying attention. While his 6-foot-2 build and traditional point guard game don’t exactly jump off the screen, he’s been an extremely solid backup ballhandler for Golden State whenever Kerr has called his number. He’s the kind of player who always plays with effort, IQ, and grit.

“He’s just about the right stuff,” Kerr raved about Spencer after the game. “Organizationally, you always just want to stand for something. You want to have an identity, and it’s got to be about competitive spirit and just playing together and competing. And that’s what was so beautiful about what that group did on the stretch.”

It also helps when it’s clear Spencer’s added to his offensive arsenal this season. The turnaround jumper in the lane and the 3-point shot were not in his repertoire last year.

But to keep Spencer and his competitive spirit may be tricky. As a two-way player, Spencer’s already used 23 of the maximum 50 games the Warriors are allowed to have him active for. Kerr expressed that they’ll likely have to pick and choose which games they keep him inactive, to preserve his limited games for when they need him, because the pathway to rostering him is murky.

With the maximum 15 players rostered and the Dubs up against the second apron, getting Spencer a roster spot would likely require sending out some kind of two-for-one deal, which seems unlikely.

“It’d be great to find a way to get him on the roster because he’s kind of the perfect guy to have as a backup,” Kerr expressed. “He can win you games like he almost did tonight, but if he doesn’t play, [he] brings the same energy, the same attitude, the next game.”

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