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Here's what these 3 guys did last year.

WCS - 11.9 pts, 8.4 Reb 55.6fg, 27min
Looney - 6.2 pts, 5.2 Reb, 62.5fg, 18.5min
Spellman - 5.9pts, 4.2 Reb, 40fg, 17.5min

Do you think they hit the marks from last year? Or do they exceed those totals?

I'm on record saying Looney is gonna be close to a double double next year.

I think Willie comes close to the same numbers, except he played almost 30 minutes per for 81 games. So he may not play as much as he did last year. It will depend fully on his defense. If he's bringing it Kerr will stick with him. If not, he looks elsewhere.

Spellman is gonna have to impress early to get minutes. He's gonna need to be shooting well. And he's gonna have to be in good shape. But if he does show out early it makes us deep there.

I don't think Draymond plays much center this year at all.

We also have Smiley to keep an eye on.

I think the bigs overall are going to be a lot more fun to watch this year, and I expect they will be more consistent as a group than the wings will be.

I don't think Looney quite reaches a double-double. I suspect Looney gets about 25 min/game, but even if he gets 30 min/game, he would average 8.4 boards using last year as a guide. If WCS gets 30 min/game, which I think is more likely since I expect him to start, he would average 9 reb/game. But if Looney is able to provide some type of midrange game or hopefully a few 3's, I could see him averaging over 10 ppg. Spellman could pick up 3-4 minutes at the center position if he is in shape and proves he can knock down a 3.

But I am more excited about the bigs than I have been in years. WCS gives us someone who can run the court and is a vertical threat to catch lobs from DLo and Draymond; we haven't had that since JaVale left. He also provides good PnR defense that JaVale could not. Very high on Looney; he showed how much he can contribute in the playoffs and if he can add a midrange/corner 3 game to his arsenal, he will be very valuable. And Spellman gives us the stretch 5 that we haven't seen since the days of Mo'Buckets. So much more exciting than the days of Zaza and Damion Jones!

I'm hoping for a lot more from WCS than we got from McGee's 8 or 9 minutes a game.

I'm excited for the bigs this year. WCS is the best center, at least on paper, that we've had since 15/16 Bogut. Looney is on an upward trajectory. Omari Spellman could be that stretch 5 we've needed since Speights, except with defense. And I think Smailagic is going to become a fan favorite quick. So, yeah, I can't wait to see these guys.

One potential problem I can envision is Willie's defense, or lack their of.

In the past Willie has fallen in love with offense, to the point of it negatively affecting the rest of his game.

On this team, his bread will be buttered by his defense and hustle. He's got to compete hard on the defensive side, and he's got to get down the defensive rotations alongside Draymond in order to stay on the floor. Otherwise in crunch time and critical moments the Warriors will go with Looney and Draymond. There's comfort and understanding between those 2. So that alone could affect Willie's minutes.

But if Willie is getting it and finds some good chemistry with Draymond, then he will be the guy when it counts.

Willie's offense will need to come off of picks and screen setting.....running the floor on the break....and within the flow of our offense. If he thinks he's going to free-wheel it and look for his own shots, then he's going to get pulled and sit next to Steve.

He will have plenty of open looks by default to get his shots. So no need for him to push it.

I think an interesting wildcard might be if Looney increases his comfort in his outside shot, out to the 3-point line. Kerr has been egging him on to it, and if he does well with it, he might get a few minutes per game at that 4, in addition to the majority of the time he'll spend at the 5. We are low-key not deep at all at the 4 position; it's expecting a lot of Paschall to come in and be playing meaningful minutes as the only other guy with enough size to play the 4.

I love the different games the 3 guys have - WCS as the vertical spacer / super-athletic guy, Looney with the old man game and great defense, and Spellman hopefully being able to stretch the floor (if he's in shape). I expect nothing out of Smailagic this year; he should spend virtually the whole year in Santa Cruz, focusing on foot speed and defense, which are the 2 areas that will likely limit him in his career.

For the 3 centers, I could see averages like the following:
Looney - 27 MPG (includes some time at PF); 10 points, 9 rebounds/game
Cauley-Stein - 22 MPG; 8 points, 6 rebounds/game
Spellman - 8 MPG; 4 points, 2 rebounds/game

Mylie10 wrote:One potential problem I can envision is Willie's defense, or lack their of.

In the past Willie has fallen in love with offense, to the point of it negatively affecting the rest of his game.

On this team, his bread will be buttered by his defense and hustle. He's got to compete hard on the defensive side, and he's got to get down the defensive rotations alongside Draymond in order to stay on the floor. Otherwise in crunch time and critical moments the Warriors will go with Looney and Draymond. There's comfort and understanding between those 2. So that alone could affect Willie's minutes.

But if Willie is getting it and finds some good chemistry with Draymond, then he will be the guy when it counts.

Willie's offense will need to come off of picks and screen setting.....running the floor on the break....and within the flow of our offense. If he thinks he's going to free-wheel it and look for his own shots, then he's going to get pulled and sit next to Steve.

He will have plenty of open looks by default to get his shots. So no need for him to push it.

To your point, this is what I posted on WCS' defense on the WCS Incoming Per Marcus Thompson thread:

"Wanted to resurrect this thread on WCS to talk about his defense - or lack thereof. I understand that he has received praise for his ability to defend the PnR. That's great, and after we all saw Boogie struggle defending smaller players on the perimeter last season, I am glad the team recognized this as a weakness and sought to fix it.

But there is more to defense than just defending the PnR. Here are some of the less savory aspects of WCS from last season:

Of the 73 centers who played at least 40 games, WCS ranked 57th in opponent's points in the paint (allowing a staggering 29.1 points in the paint/game), his block percentage was 64th, his defensive rating was 52nd, and his 7.9 opponent second chance points was "good" for 60th place. He has the tools to be a better rim protector - 7-3 wingspan and a 37 max vertical coming out of college - but his actual production was worse than mediocre. He clearly has the size, length and athleticism to be a quality defender; the question is whether he can add the mindset and bbIQ to actually be one for us?"