Eric Paschall confident he'll make Warriors impact despite lesser role

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We are living in very uncertain times, and so much can change between now and when the 2020-21 NBA season starts.

But for the sake of this article, let's assume the Warriors' Opening Night roster includes Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and a couple veterans added in free agency.

What will that mean for Eric Paschall? It should result in fewer opportunities compared to his rookie campaign.

"I mean, I know I’m going to take a lesser role," Paschall told The Athletic's Anthony Slater earlier this week. "But I still feel I’m going to make an impact because I feel like I’ve proven myself.

"I feel like I’m ready to prove myself at the highest level."

Paschall averaged 17.1 points and 5.3 rebounds over Golden State's first 23 games while shooting 50.7 percent from the field.

After somewhat of a midseason lull, the Villanova product came on very strong over the final couple weeks of the season -- averaging 17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 56.9 percent shooting.

Despite the tremendous play, Paschall still has a lot to prove.

"Most players really see a huge jump early in their careers once they've kind of settled in and have a solid year under their belt. I'm looking for a big leap forward for some of our younger players to the point where they can get into our rotation," coach Steve Kerr told reporters last week. "Who that is, that's up to them.

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"They have to earn that next year in camp and exhibition season. But that's what we're really looking for."

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Those comments show that the coaching staff isn't ready to pencil in 30 minutes per night for Paschall, which is understandable.

But it's important to remember something else Kerr said back in mid-March.

"Eric Paschall looks like a guy -- because of his physical strength, his power, his confidence obviously -- we could throw into a playoff game right now and he would hold his own," he told The Athletic's Tim Kawakami. "That's one of the ways that we kind of look at players and look at the league. When you watch the two best teams in the league play in a regular season game or when you watch any playoff game -- can this player on our roster be out there? The answer with Eric for sure is a resounding yes. And that's exciting.

"To be able to get a guy like that in the second round -- and watch him grow and develop -- that alone makes this a successful season."

Paschall -- who will turn 24 years old in November -- is not going to be a starter next year, but he could end up being a part of the Warriors' closing lineup on certain nights.

He certainly is looking forward to playing alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

"The spacing’s going to be ridiculous," he told Slater. "I can’t wait for that."

Here are a couple examples from the Dubs' loss to the Toronto Raptors on March 5:

[RELATED: Why NBA exec isn't putting stock in Paschall's big season]

And in case you were wondering -- yes, slipping all the way to No. 41 overall in the 2019 draft inspires Paschall.

"I feel like I obviously should’ve been picked higher," he said. "I’ve been overlooked my whole life. People didn’t think I was that good, thought I shouldn’t be in certain places. So it’s always been about proving people wrong and that was part of my motivation this season.

"I think I did it pretty well."

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