“Probably our most consistent player throughout” - Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expects Damion Lee to have a big year
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was all praise for his 29-year old shooting guard Damion Lee. Lee has been an instrumental member of the Warriors’ roster. He has until now averaged 14.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in four NBA games despite starting none.
The Golden State Warriors’ coaching staff has been all praise for the 29-year old who has already shown signs of registering a career-season already. According to Steve Kerr, Damion Lee has been one of the Warriors’ most consistent players in recent months. He has gained a degree of trust within the coaching staff and is being looked at as an impact player off the bench.
People forget that Damion Lee has proven he can get buckets. At the end of the 2019-20 season, he averaged nearly 17 points per game over an 11 game stretch.
The big difference is he is doing this for a team expected to compete now and is back in the spotlight
As far as Damion Lee’s statistics are concerned, he has not disappointed so far and looks set to play a big role for the Warriors this season.
Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr praises Damion Lee, calls him his most consistent player
The Golden State Warriors were trailing the OKC Thunder by more than 10 points in the first half. However, Damion Lee was introduced in the third quarter, and immediately made an impact. He knocked down two quick three-pointers, breathing life into the game as the Warriors’ other stars took over and delivered a comfortable victory in the end. Stephen Curry was not at his best but still finished as the top-scorer with 23 points and six rebounds while Damion Lee came off the bench to add 20.
Damion Lee has come up big for the Warriors in each game so far this season, and Steve Kerr believes the guard is primed for a big year in Golden State (via @kendra__andrews)
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In the post-match conference, Steve Kerr said the following about Lee:
"He’s just so rock solid in every way. The ball moves when he's out there, he makes the right cut, he makes the right pass, he’s a big-time shooter and his defense has been solid. So Damion has been fantastic."
The extent of the praise has also been justified by statistics, with Damion Lee currently producing 14.3 ppg, his best-ever return through a season. There is increased importance on his return, especially in the absence of Klay Thompson, who is still some way away from making a return. Lee can prove to be an important player for the Golden State Warriors. Kerr went on to call Damion Lee his most consistent player throughout training camp:
It’s not surprising given that he was fantastic every day of training camp. Probably our most consistent player throughout
Lee himself acknowledged the growth in his game. He was recently ruled out due to contracting COVID but has made a strong return since the Warriors opened for training:
After my battle with COVID, it was about ramping up from there. I probably took a week off of not touching a basketball, and then just went really hard in the weight room trying to make sure I got my conditioning. It probably took me two and a half months, close to three, to really start to feel like myself again. So with that, it was just finding a balance between how hard to work on the court versus lifting, conditioning, things of that nature."
While it might be a bit too early in the season to come to conclusions, Damion Lee might just end up having a breakthrough year in the NBA this season.