If my memory serves me correctly, this is not as scintillating of a performance as the last time Dragan Bender scored 23, back in early 2018. I seem to remember a turnaround middy jumper, possibly multiple, a bunch of other impressive buckets and a general sense of “this is it, he’s finally breaking out”. You’re going to have to take my word on this, because there are appear to be no vids depicting that particular performance on YouTube, and I’m too lazy to rummage around my Archivium to find the VHS tape that acts as my backup for it.
That said, there are two things here that should make this required viewing for any basketball fan. Those things are:
-23 points
-Dragan Bender
All it was was threes and layups, but that’s because he’s on the Warriors now. Those are the shots they like to shoot, even if Kevin Durant brought a lot of midrange to the table and they decided that a few of those per game were fine too even after he left. And maybe it’s really more of a testament to Eric Paschall’s passing ability than Bender’s scoring ability. I don’t agree with that, because Bender actually had to work for some of those layups, driving from the three-point line to finish. Add in some threes to those shots at the rim, and all of a sudden he tied a career-high, and it didn’t even feel like that much scoring or that good of a game. Is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing? Who knows!
Now is a good time for Bender to continue being aggressive with his scoring, because his second 10-day contract is about to expire and you don’t get a third one. Now is the chance to prove that he deserves to be kept around for the rest of the year. It’s common for 10-dayers to be passive, but Bender has shown through his entire stint with Golden State that he’s willing to at least attempt to score the ball. If his time with them is coming to and end, other teams take note: Dragan Bender is DONE being a passive wallflower.