The Golden State Warriors bounced back after a humiliating 52-point blowout loss against the league-leading Boston Celtics with a 35-point rout against the Milwaukee Bucks (125-90), with rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis playing a pivotal role off the bench.
Dubs head coach Steve Kerr emphasized the importance of Jackson-Davis’ development, acknowledging the need to provide him with more playing time to prepare for the playoffs.
“We’re going to need [Kevon Looney] in the playoffs. There’s going to be matchups where we need him. I know I can trust him. But we got to get Trayce more minutes to get him ready for the playoffs because he needs reps, he needs more time,” Kerr stated.
“You can see what he did tonight. He has an ability to finish and to block shots. That gives us a different look. So we decided to tamp up his minutes and slide Moses [Moody] kind of into a bigger role as well. And those guys were both fantastic tonight I think.”
Jackson-Davis rose to the occasion defensively as well, tasked with guarding two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Trayce is so bouncy and he’s got long arms. He can really protect the rim and get off the floor quickly,” Kerr commented. “So again, it just gives us a different look.
“Giannis is so hard to guard. It was good to kind of just change it up on Giannis after Draymond [Green] guarded him for a little bit, Loon as well. And then a little change of pace with Trayce with his athleticism and rim protection. It takes a village to guard that guy and we needed everybody for sure.”
