Ron Adams: Growth of Festus Ezeli as a player a gratifying part of Warriors’ record season

I like Festus Ezeli because every day he's just the same human being, just a delightful person. The way I look at life, I make my judgments - that's too strong a word - I'm very much attracted to interesting people and to people who are upbeat. He's that kind of guy. He's an interesting guy from another culture. He has an upbeat spirit, much like the spirit of our team. Very much so.

He's a real gentleman. Well-educated. Great manners. Not as a human being, but as a basketball player he's very young. This is one of the challenges we give him. As a young player, he has to keep growing mentally and expanding and focusing and doing all the things that will allow him to utilize his physical skills fully.

He made a difference in Game 2 against Portland. He had not been playing a lot in several prior games, and he came into the game and was immediately involved. That is not easy to do for any player coming off the bench. That was impressive.

He was very mobile and dynamic defensively. Of course, on offense he's a big target. Draymond Green, in particular, has a very good feel for him on the court. So, Festus was a factor offensively, also.

He's improved a lot. You see it in his fundamentals. He's known as a defensive player and a rebounder, but his offense has come along. He's developed a very reliable jump hook. Although recently I'm not pleased with the results, his free throw shooting has come along well. I have confidence in his free throw shooting. When he gets in a pretty good groove, his free throw goes in for him, which is important because he's a big player and he will get fouled a lot by where he catches the ball around the rim.

He can make a 15-foot shot. Doesn't shoot it a lot. Shouldn't shoot it a lot in games. It's not what we ask him to do, but occasionally he's open. In these areas of fine skills, shooting and even passing, he's shown improvement.

Defensively he's a force. He just makes it difficult for the opponents to score. He does a good job of protecting our paint. Challenging shots. Helping his teammates when something goes wrong. Covering up the breakdown. He's a very good pick-and-roll defender. Hugely important in the NBA.

And he's become a game changer. Certainly on defense. But even on offense for this team because he does some things we don't always have - that is a dynamic body around the rim. He can catch it and dunk it. Andrew Bogut's good at that, also. Festus is a forceful diver off pick and rolls, getting the ball back at the rim. There are things he does in a more dynamic way than some of our other bigs.

He and Bogut complement each other. They both give us great defense. They both cover up breakdowns in the paint, which is extremely important not only for our team, but for playing in this league. They give us size and strength. They set good screens. Screening is one of those fundamentals everyone takes for granted. It's vitally important for a team to be successful offensively, especially with our shooters.

For a team that's more perimeter-oriented, a run-up-and-down-the-court kind of team, they're able to fit into that system and not be frustrated. They don't demand the ball. Festus likes to score. Bogut enjoys it, too. Maybe Bogut does not have the same mentality as Festus in that regard, but neither one is selfish.

Warriors assistant coach Ron Adams is writing columns exclusively for The Press Democrat throughout the NBA playoffs.