One-on-one with Warriors radio voice Tim Roye

After dropping their first three games of the season, the Golden State Warriors have run off five straight wins. I had the opportunity to speak with Tim Roye, who is in his 30th season as the radio voice of the team.

Q: What has stood out to you most about Yaxel Lendeborg’s game, and how has he changed the dynamics of the team?

A: He’s really given the team an option they didn’t have before. He’s a big guy who can pass, he can score, and he gives them a player they can run the offense through when Steph isn’t on the floor. And as we saw the other night, he can get you to the free throw line, which is a big deal for the Warriors because the guy who does that for them is Jimmy Butler, and Jimmy’s not back until midseason.

Yaxel has provided the team with a spark, and it’s just been a great plug-in and let him play. There was no huge adjustment for him, I think, except the fact that from day one, they told him to be aggressive. They want him to be aggressive and to not defer all the time, which some players can do when they play alongside a guy like Steph Curry. So keeping him aggressive has been a huge key, and he’s really been a godsend for them, and he’s given our fan base new hope.

Q: How much has his play and presence energized the team?

A: I think it’s given the guys a sense of optimism. I think one of the big questions coming into the season was, can the Warriors hang on until they get Butler and Moody back? And I think what Yaxel has done is say, yeah, they can not only hang on but maybe do pretty well.

It’s a long season. We’re only one-tenth of the way through it, but from what we’ve seen so far, it gives you the idea, hey, maybe we can roll with this, maybe we can do something with this. And I think for Draymond and Steph, they’re looking for that puncher’s chance again. They want that puncher’s chance to go deep in the playoffs to see what can happen. And I think Yaxel gives them another reason to be optimistic about that.

Q: During the five-game winning streak, is there anything that stands out that you think is sustainable going forward?

A: I think what’s sustainable is the fact they’re deeper, and they’ve got some guys who know how to play coming off the bench now, and that is sustainable, I think. Winning in Denver is not an easy thing, even though Denver is off to a little bit of a slow start, and last year they probably would’ve lost the game in Minnesota at this point in the season. They would have given that game away, and they’re not doing that. They may not play perfectly, but they’re finding ways to win games when they’re not playing perfectly, and I think that part of it can be sustainable.

Q: Speaking of the bench, Charles Bassey has given them two straight strong games off the bench. What are your impressions of him, and with Al Horford being load-managed, can you see Bassey carving out a bigger role?

A: Absolutely, because he does a couple of things right away. He protects the rim. He can get out there and block shots. And I don’t want people to take this the wrong way, but he’s a good garbage man. By that I mean he gets into the play. He rolls to the rim, gets around the rim, gets a tip-in or a dunk or a lob pass to him, so he knows who he is and how he needs to play. So by getting to the rim, the Warriors are getting a couple of easy baskets every game just simply because he’s hanging around the basket.

And the other part about Bassey is that he’s really raw as a player, and to me that’s great because he’s contributing right now, and he can get better. As soon as he finds out more about the league, about the guys he’s guarding, and gets used to that and understands where he’s going to get the ball at times when Steph and Yax are double-teamed, I think that’s really going to increase his ability to be effective.

Q: How do you like what you’ve seen from Brandin Podziemski so far, and do you see him taking a leap this season?

A: He’s more aware. I think his situational awareness has taken a step forward, and I think he’s a little more mature, which happens to every young player. I think he looks calmer. He looks like he’s more settled in his play, and I think that’s going to help him moving forward because he’s improved his shooting. And there are nights when he looks like he’s not playing well, and you look down at the third-quarter box score, and he’s a +15. Maybe he hasn’t scored that much or he hasn’t stuck out as a player, but he does connect very well and make plays that help you get buckets and get a stop and help you win games.