Has Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski grown in Steph Curry’s absence?

Few NBA players are as perplexing, or polarizing, as Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski. 

Podziemski can knife into the lane and confound defenses with dogged drives, soft floaters and clever passes, as he did in three games this week. He collected 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists Friday night against Washington, a strong encore to his efforts against Brooklyn (22-6-5) on Wednesday and Dallas (20-10-6) on Monday.

In the previous game, a listless loss in Atlanta, Podziemski barely registered. He had only five points, one assist and no rebounds in 24 minutes, bothered by Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, one of the league’s most tenacious defenders. 

Every time Podziemski struggles, social-media critics howl. Why does head coach Steve Kerr stick with him? This guy had the audacity to say he wants to be better than Stephen Curry?

Some of the outsized reaction to Podziemski no doubt traces to his bravado, captured by the comment about striving to become better than Curry. But the Warriors understand Podziemski remains a work in progress, a promising 23-year-old with distinctive skills and boundless ambition. 

Curry’s lingering knee injury, which has kept him out for two months, pushed Podziemski to center stage. The results have been mixed, as Kerr conveyed in a long, insightful answer to a news-conference question about Podziemski before last Saturday’s game in Atlanta.

“This is a great experience for Brandin,” Kerr said. “I mean, 20 games (now 24) without Steph. I think where he is in his career, he’s proven he does a lot of things that can help drive winning. That’s been apparent.

“In my mind, he’s really exploring how good he can become and what type of player he wants to become. I think you’ve seen lots of hiccups along the way, where he’s trying things that aren’t working — but playing without Steph for 20 games is going to expose some of that.

“If he’s playing off Steph, off the ball, more of a secondary ballhandler role, he’s really good. He does a lot of things other players don’t do. He’s got a knack. When he tries to be too on-ball, you see him get into some trouble. You see the warts.

“This is all part of being a young player. And then he has to sort through all that and the idea of what it means to be on a team, and explore your own game while also trying to help the team win. That’s a complex thing, so this is a very interesting time for him.”

Kerr was right on target, of course: Podziemski does many good things, impacts winning in various ways … and occasionally gets in his own way. He tends to dribble too much, for example, a habit surfacing more often with Curry sidelined and Podziemski starting at point guard. 

But the positives — much-needed playmaking, rugged rebounding, taking charges — are too plentiful to ignore.

Two nights after Kerr’s impromptu state-of-Podz speech, Podziemski talked to the Chronicle in the visitors’ locker room in Dallas. Asked what he has learned about his game in Curry’s absence, Podziemski widened the scope to include his teammates. 

“It’s not just me, but everybody gets to see what it’s like playing in high-pressure situations against really good players and teams,” he said. “Guys are defending us who normally wouldn’t, because Steph isn’t on the floor. I think all of us get a chance to do something we’re not accustomed to doing.” 

Golden State’s results have been rocky, not surprisingly. The Warriors enter Sunday night’s game in Denver at 9-15 since Curry went down, causing them to slide to 10th in the Western Conference standings. 

As for Podziemski, even when he plays well, as he did Monday against the Mavericks, some decisions clearly exasperate Kerr. Consider two consecutive fourth-quarter possessions in Dallas, with the Warriors nursing an eight-point lead and less than five minutes left.

First, Podziemski hoisted a 3-point shot early in the shot clock, when patience made more sense; Kerr slumped his shoulders when the shot missed. Then, on the next possession, Podziemski committed a turnover on a careless pass. 

Kerr, visibility aggravated, pointed to the bench to summon Pat Spencer. Soon thereafter, Spencer lost the ball for another turnover and Kerr went back to Podziemski. He played the entire overtime, turnover-free, to help the Warriors win. 

In the pregame interview, Podziemski essentially agreed with Kerr’s premise about the added challenge of playing with the ball more frequently. 

“It’s hard, but it’s something I also strive to do — a little bit of both (on-ball and off-ball) like Steph does,” Podziemski said. “The big opportunity is to see where you are now, how you can learn and grow. I think it’s going to help every one of us.”

Statistically, at least, Podziemski has taken a step forward in his third NBA season. He entered Sunday averaging a career-high 13.2 points, up from 11.7 last season, while also bumping up his rebounding (5.3) and assists (3.8) averages slightly compared to a year ago. His playing time also has increased, from 26.8 minutes per game to 28.4. 

Podziemski acknowledged he’s trying not to put too much pressure on himself, a tendency Draymond Green highlighted about him last season. Left unsaid: Podziemski is eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension this summer, which could heighten his anxiety and magnify the delicate balance between team success and trying to show he can handle a featured role. 

“I think I’m a lot more comfortable going out there and competing every day,” Podziemski said. “Not really thinking about too much, just playing free. … When you do that (put pressure on yourself), you second-guess a lot of things and you look slower physically, the way you process things.

“So just being instinctual and living with it, then watching it over and trying to fix it next time, is probably the best way to go.”