Golden State Warriors: Evaluating The Baby Warriors Production So Far

Patrick McCaw

Patrick McCaw is probably the most intriguing of the young Dubs. McCaw is a wing player with a ton of length, thanks to his 6’7″ frame and 6’10” wingspan. Those are close to Draymond Green’s measurements, although Draymond is substantially heavier than the rail-thin rookie.

Still, the Draymond comparison there is purposeful, because much of the appeal about McCaw is his defensive potential. If he pans out correctly, McCaw could be a game-changing wing defender who could switch across multiple positions on defense.

Almost no rookies come into the NBA playing fantastic defense, although McCaw has certainly shown flashes that he can be a disruptive player on that end.

McCaw’s offense is a work in progress, although it’s coming along. Many rookies drafted in 2016 have struggled on that end, but McCaw is making 41.6 percent of his field goals and 35.0 percent of his threes thus far.

That field goal percentage may look low, but that’s only because more than half of the shots McCaw takes are threes–he hits more than half of his attempted twos.

Playing next to the Splash Brothers and Kevin Durant certainly helps with his efficiency, but it’s still up to McCaw to make shots, and he’s done that. McCaw is still a ways away from being a complete player though.

When he’s on the floor, the Warriors have an offensive rating of 104.2 and a defensive rating of 105.8. Both of those marks rank among the fifth-worst among Golden State’s players, and the Warriors have a negative net rating when he plays this season.

The tools are there, but McCaw probably isn’t quite ready to play huge minutes on a contender just yet. That’s not all that surprising, considering he’s just 21 years old, but don’t be surprised to see McCaw step up in the not-too-distant future.