Just when you thought it was safe not to watch Warriors games anymore...
In a season of impressive rookies — Kendrick Nunn, Ja Morant, RJ Barrett, P.J. Washington, Rui Hachimura — Golden State’s Eric Paschall wants to get into the discussion.
Paschall scored 17 points in the first quarter and finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds on his birthday Monday night, leading the Warriors to a 127-118 upset win against the Trail Blazers at the Chase Center.
Do not mess with Paschall pic.twitter.com/uxNWtYUyTV
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 5, 2019
Paschall now has back-to-back games of 25+ points, the last Warrior to do that was some guy named Curry.
This guy @epaschall is on another level right now I love it. Birthday vibes!!!! #dubnation
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) November 5, 2019
His big game had the Chase Center crowd raining “M-V-P” chants down on the rookie, which he told Ali Thanawalla of NBC Sports Bay Area was a strange experience.
Paschall, a 6'7" forward out of Villanova, had fallen to No. 41 in last June’s draft, despite having an NBA-ready physique, a solid jump shot, and looking like a switchable defender. The Warriors pounced.
It’s early in what is going to be a long, rough season for Golden State. The Warriors’ focus (even if they won’t admit it) is on getting players who can come in next season when Stephen Curry/Klay Thompson/Draymond Green are fully healthy and ready to be back among the league’s elite. Paschall looks like he can be one of those guys, and someone the Warriors fans can get behind this season.