DarioWatch: Buzzer-beaters, double-digit rebounds, and teammates hitting Scream cellies

The Golden State Warriors’ bench mob, led by longtime teammates Chris Paul and Dario Šarić, has been a hot topic of conversation across the Warriors fandom this week, especially as Paul has been booted from the starting lineup for the first time in his entire career. Both Paul and Šarić have spoken extensively about their time running the Phoenix Suns’ bench from 2020 through the 2023 trade deadline, so with young Warriors like Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and Trayce Jackson-Davis rounding out their bench lineups, they’re clearly leading the way for the up-and-coming bench mob.

“I’m excited of course, we had our run with the Suns. We went to the finals. Obviously we played a lot of minutes together, nothing can surprise him and, you know, he’s just like a real true point guard who can make players better, who can run the team,” Šarić said about Paul during media day earlier this month.

But, hey, you didn’t come here for Chris Paul. This is a DarioWatch. Let’s talk about the Homie in today’s extra spooky edition of the series you’ve definitely been looking out for.

On October 29th, against the Houston Rockets, Dario nailed a clutch first-quarter buzzer-beater three to put the Warriors up 26-24 after a disappointing start. With just 4 points scored in this game, Šarić might not yet be the third Splash Brother — but I’d like to make a case to nickname him their Splash Cousin... or something.

Moving on! Impressively, Šarić logged 5 assists in Sunday’s road win. Throughout his career, the Homie has averaged just above 2 assists per game. It’s clear that Steve Kerr is utilizing him correctly as someone to feed scorers like Paul and Steph Curry due to what he lacks in his ability to get to the basket — and it’s working. Šarić, now better known as a three-point sharpshooter, has always been a passer — whether it’s his beautiful bounce passes to Bojan Bogdanović on the Croatian national team or his iconic slide dish to Ben Simmons in a 2017 game against the New York Knicks, the Homie can get quite crafty and quick on his feet when getting the ball to his buddies.

The most important thing we have to get out of the way in today’s DarioWatch is his impressive 7 rebounds in Sunday’s game versus the Rockets and 10 rebounds in Monday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Many fans joke about Dario’s matchups versus Pelicans big man Zion Williamson, but the thing is, he can actually do it — across five games played against Williamson, Šarić has averaged 5.4 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. Last night, the Homie logged 4 offensive rebounds, showing his ability to keep the bench mob on their feet against star-caliber big men.

While Stepback ŠiŠi hasn’t added much to the Warriors in terms of scoring, he’s definitely added a ton of versatility in passing and rebounding, as well as a ton of heart.

And remember what I said about this one being spooky?

Steph Curry hit Dario’s iconic Scream face as a celebration after putting the Rockets’ Dillon Brooks on skates Sunday.

Happy Halloween, DarioWatchers!