VJ Edgecombe foils a comeback attempt led by Pat Spencer

The The Golden State Warriors were literally less than a second away from a complete 24-point comeback on the road, without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler and with Draymond Green out with a right leg injury. The Dubs were nine-tenths of a second away from leaving Philly with a victory led by two-way player Pat Spencer’s 12 points in the fourth quarter and a plus-17 plus/minus for the game.

That is, until 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe jumped made a corner kick to recover a Tyrese Maxey fumble and hand Golden State a 99-98 loss. The loss marked the Warriors’ twelfth of the season, a heartbreaker given the struggles of the Dubs’ reserves while the bench group combined for 67 of the Warriors’ 98 points without some key starters. After the game, coach Steve Kerr was proud of his players’ fight despite failing to make the comeback.

“The effort tonight was phenomenal,” Kerr said. “I thought we really deserved to win. I feel terrible for the guys we couldn’t hang with. The effort, the energy, the commitment.”

It looked like another one of those Warriors games where they were doomed due to a lack of offensive creation without Curry or Butler. But Spencer came alive, building on his strong performance from the previous game, sparking the Dubs’ offense with his pick-and-roll game.

“Pat led us into the offense and went downhill on the pick-and-roll and distributed the ball,” Kerr explained. “Pat was amazing and controlled the game.

Spencer hit a big 3-pointer to put Golden State up 98-94 with just over a minute left in the game. But the Warriors immediately committed an and-one to Quentin Grimes and couldn’t get the ball right on the next possession, leading to their demise.

Bad night for the “other timeline” Warriors

As inspiring as the comeback effort by Spencer and the rest of the reserves was, the performances of Jonathan Cumminga and Brandin Podziemski weren’t exactly pretty. In 20 minutes each, Kuminga and Podziemski finished with a team-low minus-18 and minus-20 plus/minus, respectively, and three turnovers.

Neither player could find a rhythm offensively, as the Dubs’ pace seemed stagnant and slow when they were on the court. And neither player was on the floor during the Warriors’ fourth-quarter comeback.

It was one of those nights that makes you question the ceiling of the Warriors’ past first-rounders. Those are the guys the Dubs count on when Curry and Butler are out, whether it’s due to injury or workload management. That was the understanding going into this season – the Warriors’ success would depend on how the young core could play once their older, aging stars were gone.

But at 11-12 on the season, with Curry, Butler and potentially Green out for at least the short term, it’s hard to trust those former first-rounders to carry the torch long term. Especially when it was clear as day that Kerr’s decision to close out the game without either of them was, unequivocally, the right basketball move.

Kerr downplayed his response when asked by a reporter about his decision not to close with Cummings, Podziemski or Moody. He stated that it was a night of other guys and the depth of the team. Regardless, it’s worrying that the second timeline couldn’t score in the absence of the main stars.

The two-way conundrum of the Pat Spencer contract

Pat Spencer’s impressive night in Philly was no surprise to anyone paying attention. While his 6-foot-2 frame and traditional point guard game don’t exactly jump off the screen, he’s been an extremely solid backup for Golden State whenever Kerr calls his number. He is the type of player who always plays with effort, IQ and determination.

“He’s the real deal,” Kerr said of Spencer after the game. “Organizationally, you always just want to stand for something. You want to have an identity, and that has to be about the competitive spirit and just playing together and competing. And that’s what was so beautiful about what that group did in action.”

It also helps that it’s clear that Spencer has added to his offensive arsenal this season. The turnaround jumper and 3-point shot were not in his repertoire last year.

But retaining Spencer and his competitive spirit can be difficult. As a two-way player, Spencer has already used 23 of the maximum 50 plays the Warriors are allowed to be active. Kerr said they will likely have to pick and choose which games to keep him inactive in order to preserve his limited games for when they need him because the path to his inclusion is murky.

With a 15-man roster and the Dubs up against the second apron, making Spencer a roster spot would likely require sending some sort of two-for-one deal, which seems unlikely.

“It would be great to find a way to get him on the roster because he’s kind of the perfect backup guy,” Kerr said. “He can win you games like he almost did tonight, but if he’s not playing, (he) brings the same energy, the same attitude, the next game.”