Programming note: The American Century Championship will air Friday, July 11, from 1-3 p.m. PT on Peacock, and again from 5-7 p.m. PT on GOLF Channel. Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13, the tournament will air locally on NBC Bay Area (KNTV) from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT.
What will it take for the Warriors to get that next NBA championship title?
Former MLB shortstop and Oakland native Jimmy Rollins has an idea, and he broke it down while speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole on Thursday at the American Century Championship in South Lake Tahoe.
“Rebounds,” Rollins said without hesitation when Poole asked what it would take for the Warriors to win their next ring. “A big man that can come in, you know, and play some defense. Look, Draymond [Green] is what [6-foot-7]? [6-foot-6] and he’s guarding 7-footers and he’s pushing them off the block, but there are times where length, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
In the 2024-25 NBA regular season, the Warriors were middle of the pack when it came to rebounds allowed to opponents, but in the playoffs, their lack of size was evident. Golden State was fourth worst of the 16 playoff teams while allowing 11.8 offensive rebounds per game, and third worst with 44.1 total opponent rebounds per game.
“We get a true big man that can match up, that when we play our smaller lineups that we can still get rebounds, we’ll be alright,” Rollins told Poole. “So, if we get those extra possessions that we’re giving up, I think we’ll win. That’s really it. I think our defense is great, it’s just we’re getting out-rebounded, teams are getting an extra 15 shots on us. It’s hard to win games that way.”
Time will tell if the Warriors are able to find some size soon. With the rumors of the team trying to lure Al Horford alive and well, adding a veteran presence like that would be a tremendous get for a team lacking some true size.
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