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Golden State Warriors: Can James Michael McAdoo Earn Minutes In 2015-16?

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 15, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward James Michael McAdoo (20) reacts after a play against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets 133-126. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward James Michael McAdoo (20) reacts after a play against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets 133-126. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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After going undrafted in 2014, James Michael McAdoo basically sauntered back and forth between the Golden State Warriors and their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, for the duration of the 2014-15. season. He won a championship with both teams, but on one he was a main contributor, averaging 19.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game.

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On the other, well, he basically got to watch from the sidelines, logging a grand total of 11 playoff minutes during Golden State’s run to the NBA title.

But based on what we’ve seen from McAdoo — from his time in the D-League, to the instances where he got on the floor for the Warriors last year, to his NBA Summer League performance this year — he could be due for a more prominent role moving forward in the Bay Area.

Every top Summer League performance should be taken with a grain of salt because, well, it’s the Summer League. But McAdoo has brought energy, rebounding and efficient scoring to the Summer Dubs, showcasing his impressive potential at 22 years old.

Through Golden State’s first four games in Las Vegas, McAdoo is averaging 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the floor. He’s made one of his three three-point attempts, so even though he’s missed 16 of his 41 free throw attempts, McAdoo is displaying his well-rounded game.

Combine that with his hustle and intelligent play and you’ve got quite a nice theoretical fit for the Warriors, especially since both the regular season team and Summer League team run a similar system on both ends of the floor.

Take a look back on McAdoo’s time with the Warriors as a rookie and you’ll notice a trend: when given minutes, he was able to put up respectable numbers.

That probably had something to do with the fact that McAdoo only played in garbage time against other garbage time players, but in the five games where he played double-digit minutes, he averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 20.4 minutes per game while shooting 65.6 percent from the floor.

Obviously five games is a limited sample size, but since they all came after McAdoo finally stuck on the roster in Janauary, that — combined with his strong play in Summer League — is a good sign this young small forward/power forward hybrid is building momentum for the 2015-16 season.

The Golden State Warriors are coming off a championship season, so cracking the rotation will obviously be tough. Even with the departure of David Lee, earning minutes over Andre Iguodala, Marreese Speights, Festus Ezeli and/or new arrival Kevon Looney could be tough. Steve Kerr likes to mix and match his small-ball lineups, so there’s no specific player for McAdoo to compete with, making his task even more complicated.

But at 6’9″, with a lengthy wingspan and impressive athleticism, McAdoo has the right physical tools to become yet another versatile forward who can play multiple positions for Golden State. The Dubs may have gotten the steal of the draft with Kevon Looney at No. 30, but don’t be surprised if it’s James Michael McAdoo who has a bigger impact off the bench in 2015-16.

Next: Are The 2014-15 Golden State Warriors An All-Time Great Team?

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