Beyond the attention that the Golden State Warriors' stars get, as well as the season-long debacle that has been the Jonathan Kuminga situation, Brandin Podziemski might be next up in terms of the amount of discourse. The 2023-24 All-Rookie First Teamer has improved over the course of his first three seasons in the NBA, but fans seemed to have been expecting more out of him, especially with the extensive role Steve Kerr was giving him and his off-the-court comments that bordered on overconfidence.

"Podz" has seen his minutes decrease as the season goes on, and his stats have gone down in turn, but contrary to this data, it seems as though fans have become much more accepting of both his place on the team as well as the contributions he provides.

Part of that may be the tempering of expectations, but it also seems like Podziemski has been embracing and thriving in his spot off the bench, making smarter decisions and being an overall positive player in his reduced role. In January, his net rating of +6 is the highest it's been in any month this year.

One peculiar ability Podziemski seems to have manifests in late-clock situations. There have been many times this year where the guard has the ball in his hands with the shot clock winding down, and it feels like he's always able to hit, no matter where he is or how awkward the shot looks.

That was true again in the Warriors' win over the Knicks on Thursday, as Podziemski nailed a tough stepback jumper from the deep corner to beat the shot clock in the second quarter.

After the game, Podziemski talked about what goes into practicing those corner shots and how he trains his footwork to take over in those dire scenarios.

"In the corners, it's tighter space, so you gotta be more precise with your footwork. But in my free time, I just like to mess around with different things and see what I can try and learn some new things. Obviously, repetitions help, doin' it a bunch, you kinda get a feel for staying inbounds and stuff like that. And so I just kinda just let my body take over and it happened."

Steve Kerr has talked about the prowess of the second unit in the past, and one of the main reasons for this is how well the four-man grouping of Jimmy Butler, Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton, and Al Horford works together.

Often paired with another wing like Will Richard or a forward like Gui Santos, the group  has a great mixture of scoring, shooting, ball handling, and versatile defense that allows them to dominate other teams' bench squads.

Podziemski does a great job playing off of Butler's creation and has solid synergy with Melton, as the backcourt both provide competent ball-handling, shooting, and point-of-attack defense.

The Warriors have historically been a team with a strong bench — look no further than the "Strength in Numbers" slogan that defined the early part of the dynasty — and this year is shaping up to be no different.