Kerr Rips Yaxel's Pass, Curry Praises His Aggression in Warriors Debut

SAN FRANCISCO — The box score says four points, nine boards, 1-of-6 shooting. The film says something else entirely. And the two men whose opinions matter most in the Warriors’ locker room saw different things in Yaxel Lendeborg’s preseason debut.

Steve Kerr saw a pass that should have been a layup. Stephen Curry saw a rookie who wasn’t afraid to fire.

The Warriors fell 101-104 to the Clippers in their preseason opener, but the night’s real headline was the first NBA action for the 24-year-old forward. Lendeborg finished with four points, three assists and nine rebounds in 19 minutes, shooting just 1-for-6 from the field and 1-for-3 from deep. The numbers were modest. The reactions were not.

Kerr didn’t sugarcoat it.

“Yaxel’s good; we really need him to be more aggressive,” the head coach said after the loss. He pointed to a pivotal moment early in the second half — Lendeborg had the ball right underneath the basket, and instead of finishing, he tried to thread a pass to Charles. The turnover led to a Clippers three on the other end.

“That’s got to be a layup,” Kerr said. “We need Yaxel to have an aggressive scoring mentality, and that’s what we’re going to work with him on, but he can make plays, and he can score.”