How the game rewarded Santos as the Warriors’ next opportunity awaits originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Gui Santos quickly apologized and blushed as his skin turned bright red. The 22-year-old Warriors forward accidentally let out an F-bomb during his postgame press conference on Thursday night. The reason he did so was a perfect symbol of why Santos played a surprisingly big role in the Warriors’ 107-104 win over the Detroit Pistons, beginning a four-game road trip.

For the first time all season, Santos received playing time in the first half of the game as the Warriors were missing several players. Steve Kerr didn’t hesitate to use the 14th player in his squad, bringing him into the game with just under four minutes left in the first quarter. Santos immediately rewarded his coach with a 3-pointer and then made his next two attempts in the second quarter.

His fourth attempt from behind the 3-point line at the 37-second mark of the first half failed, and Santos didn’t shoot once in the third quarter. Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, Santos let it fly, and the result appeared to be an airball. Although Santos claims he was hit in the elbow, that didn’t deter him.

Just two possessions later, Santos screened two Pistons for Steph Curry and found himself wide open at the top of the arc. He hesitated for a split second, but then drained his fourth three-pointer of the night, to the delight of the Warriors’ coaching staff and Santos’ teammates on the sideline.

“I thought, ‘Yeah, you have to shoot that.’ “You can’t fake it just because you shot an airball. I was like, ‘Fuck it.’ Just shoot it,” Santos said after a short, innocent but embarrassed laugh.

Kerr challenged his team on Tuesday after the Warriors’ season of extreme highs and even more extreme lows hit rock bottom. They had just lost to teams without their best player by a total of 46 points. Kerr called it a “crisis of confidence,” not because the shots weren’t falling for his team, but because the Warriors responded.

Drooping shoulders. Shake your head. Lack of hustle and bustle. No fight, no spirit and no soul.

None of these disadvantages are associated with Santos. Kerr has been waiting to give Santos, who was playing on a non-guaranteed contract until the final game, a bigger chance. Finding energy and effort would not be a problem for him.

The game rewards what Santos brings.

When Santos learned that Andrew Wiggins would be out for a positive personal reason, he came up with the idea that he would be part of the rotation for the first time this season. When he heard his number called, his plan wasn’t about points or shots, but about looking for loose balls and doing whatever he could to make things easier for his teammates.

“We talked before the game about how many battles you can win, little battles in the game – box-outs, loose balls – he won a million battles tonight,” Kerr said. “That’s what wins games. He waited all year. He finally got his chance and he delivered, and that’s what this league is all about.

“(Warriors assistant coach) Ron Adams talks about it all the time. It’s a production league. You get your chance, you have to take it. Gui was brilliant. This game is about so much more than just whether you make or miss a shot. It’s defense. It is recovering. It’s hectic. It sprints. Everything Gui did tonight is what wins games.”

The game rewards are just as high as the skill.

The Warriors outscored the Pistons 49-40, including 15-7 on the offensive glass. Santos had five rebounds, including three on offense. Golden State also had nine steals, seven blocks and 21 second-chance points, compared to just six from Detroit. Santos added two steals and kept numerous possessions alive by tipping or putting his body on the floor.

Before Thursday night, Santos had played a total of 63 minutes in 12 games this season, scoring 10 points and going 1 of 9 on three-pointers. He didn’t have time to knock off the rust. Players at the end of the bench are not granted this additional leeway.

To defeat the young and promising Pistons, the Warriors needed all of the 25-plus minutes Santos played, a new career high for him. They needed all of his 13 points, which surpassed his season point total and set a career high. Above all, they needed a reminder of what it takes to win.

Through the visitors’ locker room walls, reporters in Detroit could hear loud cheers from Warriors players and coaches. The celebration was a symbol of togetherness for a person that nearly every teammate shouted out on Instagram later that night.

A player who practices his shot every day off. Who is at every voluntary shootaround, who imagines the impact he will make off the bench, who has changed his body since the Warriors selected him in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft, and who is the first to get up and his Teammates cheer on.

“It’s really special to have guys like Steph, Draymond and all my teammates cheering for me,” Santos said. “Especially in a game where I had the opportunity to be on the pitch. I played well and the whole team cheering for me feels so good. This shows how together we are now.”

The game rewarded Gui Santos and the Warriors followed suit. He will be needed again and the box score stats will again be second to what the rest of the Warriors can always remember.

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