The Golden State Warriors found themselves in a strange scenario in November 202

The Golden State Warriors found themselves in a strange scenario in November 2020.After mi sing the playoffs for the first time since 2012 during the season that was interrupted by COVID-19, the Warriors earned the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.The Minnesota Timberwolves seemed to be leaning on Anthony Edwards for the No. 1 pick, leaving the Warriors with two options: LaMelo Ball or James Wiseman.The two players couldn't be more different. One was a creative point guard and the best playmaker in his cla s; the other was a modern interior big man with intriguing potential because of his size and athleticism.The Warriors elected to go with the latter. In selecting Wiseman, they landed a young center with a high ceiling, but the decision came as a shock to most. For years, the Warriors won games by using bigs like Kevon Looney or JaVale McGee sparingly. Also, their small-ball lineups with Draymond Green at the five were always their best units.Selecting Wiseman called for strategic changes NBA Entertainment The Warriors hardly used the pick and roll compared to other teams. This set, which has been relevant in basketball for years, wasn't one of Golden State's main options. In fact, Chicago Bears Hoodies Sweatshirts Stephen Curry was the only player who ran the pick-and-roll for the Warriors.However, when they drafted Wiseman, it called for a change in their strategy on offense. To help Wiseman's offensive game develop, head coach Steve Kerr elected to get him involved by posting him up or using him as a screener in pick-and-rolls. This was interesting because it was never really a part of Kerr's gameplans in the past.How did it work? During Wiseman's rookie year, the Warriors had the Nick Foles Jersey lowest percentage of pick-and-roll plays finished by the screener (3.5% of their attempts). This season, even with Wiseman out due to injury, they remain in last (3.8%).The same goes for post-ups. During Wiseman's rookie year, the Warriors ranked 24th in the percentage of post-up plays (3.2%). This year, they've dropped even further to 27th in the NBA (2.8%). Without Wiseman in the lineup who has only played 39 games to this point the Warriors haven't utilized these offensive options.Wiseman's rookie season doesn't go as planned During the regular season, box scoring (meaning, only looking at the numbers) is a day-to-day routine for the NBA community, whether it's internet personalities or fans without enough time to consume full games. That is precisely where the work of journalists comes in.Wiseman began the season as a starter and in his first few weeks he looked fantastic. He had 19 points and six rebounds in just 25 minutes in his NBA debut. He followed that up with 18 J.P. Holtz Jersey points, eight rebounds and three blocks in his second game. He also dropped 20 points, six rebounds and four a sists to destroy the San Antonio Spurs.Even with those performances, Kerr still dropped him out of the starting lineup once Looney got healthy. The decision made sense the second unit needed his production but above all, Kerr felt Looney would make a bigger impact.Wiseman averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds on 52 percent shooting from the field in 21.4 minutes per game. From the perspective of box score watchers, he was doing just fine. The advanced stats told a different story though.Wiseman only generated 1.12 points per po se sion in the pick-and-roll, a mark that ranked in the 49th percentile in the league. He also only generated 0.71 points per po se sion out of post-ups, a mark that was even worse, ranking in the 14th percentile in the league. The only area he truly made an offensive impact was cutting as a lob threat.ActionPoints Per Po se sionFrequency (team rank)Percentile rank ( Pat O'Donnell Jersey in NBA)Pick-and-Roll1.1214.6% (1st)49.2Post-ups0.7117.8% (1st)14.4Cutting1.3318.8% (2nd)58.4With Wiseman on the court, the Warriors were outscored by 12.5 points per 100 po se sions with significant drops in both offensive and defensive rating. The results were even worse in the starting lineup alongside Curry, Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. outscored by an ugly 13.8 points per 100 po se sions.It was hard to blame Wiseman for the situation he was placed into. What was being asked of him was not typical for a first-year player. Joining a Warriors team trying to cling onto their dynasty while awaiting Klay Thompson's return, it's tough to live up to those expectations. The shortcomings were normal and the flashes were impre sive but that's all they were flashes.Pa sing on LaMelo Ball After all, everyone is an expert. It's easy to say that the Warriors were wrong now, with Ball earning an All-Star bid in his second season and Wiseman mi sing the whole year due to injury. But being right or wrong goes beyond how each player would pan out. Ball's fit with Golden State made more sense from the start, while Wiseman's raised questions about how a traditional big man would feature in their current system.During the 2020-21 season, it was clear that Curry lacked a playmaking shot creator by his side. Jordan Poole was starting to grow, but more was needed. As Wiseman showed his flashes, Ball was wowing everyone with how quickly his game adapted to the NBA level with the Charlotte Hornets.What would have happened to Golden State if it bet on Ball with the No. 2 pick?Right away, Ball would have been a media giant with the Warriors. It would have created another talking point for the average fan, even Chicago Bears Jersey if he never panned out. From a basketball perspective, Curry would have had a phenomenal playmaker by his side to take some of those responsibilities off his shoulders, while also acting as a mentor for Ball to become the next big star in the NBA.Playing the "what if" game is always fun. Most likely, the Warriors would have made the playoffs but everything after that changes. For example, the Rookie of the Year award probably would have gone to Edwards. But above all, the Warriors would have had another All-Star talent to join their core of Curry, Thompson and Green in pursuit of another title. Caleb Johnson Jersey Warriors fans point to Deandre Ayton's development in Phoneix as a hopeful mirror image for Wiseman. Ayton isn't the Suns' primary offensive focus and sometimes, even Mikal Bridges or Cameron Johnson play a bigger role on that end of the floor. But the difference lies in the cornerstones of each franchise.For the Suns, Chris Paul is a pa s-first point guard who can hunt mismatches for Ayton, and the big man is always surrounded by shooters. For the Warriors, Curry is running the show with a score-first mentality and they don't have as many secondary shooters as Phoenix.Of course, right now, health is the biggest thing stopping Wiseman from turning into Ayton, though. We haven't been able to enjoy the promising prospect because of injuries, but it's clear that he isn't a clean fit into Golden State's scheme.The Warriors let Ball get away by taking a risk on Wiseman and the results aren't great to date.Wiseman still has one more