The Warriors‘ hopes to get back into title contention start with Stephen Curry, and coach Steve Kerr was thrilled to see the former MVP back on the court Saturday night, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Curry is fully recovered from the broken left hand that limited him to five games last season. He shot just 3-of-10 from the field, but having him back in the lineup was a big deal for Kerr.
“It’s always just great to see him out on the floor,” Kerr said. “And I think he looks really good physically, that’s the main thing. He worked so hard in the offseason and he’s in great shape. And now it’s just a matter of getting his timing and his rhythm down, but he’s definitely a sight for sore eyes.”
Curry is surrounded by a much different roster than during the five-year stretch when Golden State was on top of the league. Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre are major additions over the past year, and the team will eventually incorporate rookie center James Wiseman, who isn’t expected to play during the preseason.
“There’s nobody like him in the NBA,” Kerr said of Curry. “Nobody who can play on and off the ball at that level and who creates that kind of havoc. And so I think with most players who come in, they’re not used to the second half of the possession. They’re sort of used to whatever the pattern is in the beginning. But as soon as maybe Steph gives up the ball, that’s when the action really starts the way we play. And that’s the tricky part for guys to figure out.”
There’s more Warriors news this morning:
- Golden State projects to have a much better bench than it did a year ago, when the team’s reserve unit was among the NBA’s worst, observes Anthony Slater of the Athletic. The addition of Kent Bazemore and Brad Wanamaker have made the Warriors a deeper team, and Eric Paschall will join them once Draymond Green returns to the starting lineup. Bazemore provides a veteran presence and the versatility to contribute in multiple ways. “Baze is kind of a wild card,” Kerr said. “He can make three or four plays in a row — a bucket, a steal, knock down a 3. He’s a streaky player.”
- The trade for Oubre gives the Warriors a top defender who can take over Klay Thompson‘s responsibilities on the perimeter, Slater notes in the same piece. Kerr said he believes Golden State can become an excellent defensive team once Green and Wiseman return.
- Mychal Mulder is in camp on a non-guaranteed contract, but his long-distance shooting may help him win a roster spot, Slater adds. He hit three important three-pointers in the fourth quarter Saturday to help the Warriors claim a close victory.
Over all the team looked good last night. You could tell Kerr wanted to test out the guys on the bubble. They will need Wiseman big body for defense inside because Chris was pushed around by the Joker.
Warriors are clearly a better playoffs team than Nuggets if Wiseman plays like Rookie Chris Bosh
Wings
Wiggins Oubre > Porter Harris
Wiggins is top 20 scorer
Warriors will need Wiseman defense on the boards. Chris looked lost some points of the game guarding the Joker. They will need to double team him with smaller players on the court.
You have some of the worst takes on here. This Golden State core has no playoff experience outside of Curry and Green. Oubre and Wiggins couldn’t stop a gentle breeze on defense, and probably couldn’t stop Gary Harris either. Denver took down the Clippers just 3 months ago in dramatic fashion.
He is obviously under the assumption that Oubre and Wiggins will be just as effective on defense as Klay and KD. Plus Curry and Green are just as good now as they were 5 years ago and the Warriors bench will provide the same outstanding defense they had with Iggy and company.
Wiseman should be better than Edwards
Edwards last night
26 minutes
5 points
1-9
Edwards is a bench guy who can’t shoot and can’t play defense
Wolves may not give him 5 shot attempts per game in regular season
Wolves fans still think Edwards ceiling is Wiggins
It’s been one game and Edwards’s 5 points is still 5 more than Wiseman has scored. As of right now, I think the best thing Wiseman has going for him is NOT playing because then some people can imagine him as a young David Robinson that can shoot the 3. Of course once he steps on the court and has a bad game those same people will be the ones calling him a bust.
Draymond and Wiseman (assuming Steph stays healthy) will prob determine whether GSW is a bubble team or a mid-tier playoff team
Can Wiseman contribute off the bat?
Does Draymond return to 2013-19 form?
Both seems like coin tosses to me. Will be interesting to see how they do this season
I posted this below, but remember the Warriors still hold a $9.3 million injury exception for Klay. Several articles on here said the Warriors will hold it until midseason to pick up a key veteran for the playoff push
One article said they were in talks with San Antonio for Aldridge. But would wait and see if the price came down mid-season if the Spurs fall out of contention.
The words “Oubre” and “top defender” don’t belong in the same sentence. What is this Slater guy talking about? Going from Klay to Oubre on defense is like trading in your Benz for a Geo Metro.
Plus Draymond is no longer the shutdown defender he used to be during his team’s dynasty. The reason Curry was so good had a lot to do with being surrounded by great defenders. He no longer has that luxury and can’t focus exclusively on the offensive side of the court like he used to. Golden State will have one of the 10 worst defenses in the NBA this season.
You haven’t watched many Warriors games. Curry never ignored playing defense. He isn’t great defensively. But, it doesn’t fit in with their style of play.
I’ve watched plenty of them. When Steph won back-to-back MVP’s he was surrounded by great defenders allowing him to focus solely on offense.
Now that all of them are gone except for Draymond (and Klay is out until next season), Curry can no longer rely on his teammates to do all the work on the defensive end. And with Wiseman so far behind he will be extremely limited coming off the bench since he’s not even close to being ready to start. Put simply, the Warriors are an absolute mess. They are far closer to being the team they were last season than what they were during their dynasty.
Why is Wiseman not playing in the pre-season? I mean it doesn’t matter how talented a player is, if he doesn’t play you can’t expect much out of him. You can’t play good offense or defense when you are not on the court.
He and Draymond tested positive for COVID.
Ah, I hadn’t heard. Thanx for the info.
Hadn’t heard or hadn’t read that?
Touche.
Warriors will need time to jell. Wiseman can’t be expected to be a key guy. He’s very young. He plays smart and they use him wisely. He can help a lot. He helps Green be more of the old Dre. They still should get another big. Dedmond is still out there. Warriors are not a playoff team. If Obrue and Wiggins don’t have good or big yrs. Obrue has always played big on a contract yr. Wiggins has plenty to prove. And for the first time in his career. There’s no pressure on him. He’s not the Guy. Warriors will need time to jell. They will be a playoff team. Things go well. They will be a better team at end of yr and in playoffs.
Gonna be hard to find a ROY this season… none of them are gonna have hands down ROY stats.
Obi Toppin will be ROY. You heard it.
No we didn’t, we read it. Just some advice, if you are hearing the words you see on the screen, you may want to get check out by psychological professionals.
Kidding aside, I think this could be a Michael Carter-Williams or Malcolm Brogdon type ROY season. In that, you may not have a dominating rookie, but one that takes advantage of an opportunity. Devin Vassell, Isaac Okoro, and Saddiq Bey are high on my list.
Last year Ja averaged 17.8, 3.9, & 7.3 (28).
My uneducated guess says this year’s ROY won’t get (25).
I don’t know. I think someone will pass the 25 mark. The past 10 winners have mostly been over the 25 line.
2019 Morent – 29 (rounding)
2018 Luka – 35
2017 Simmons – 32
2016 Brogdon – 17
2015 Towns – 31
2014 Wiggins – 24
2013 Carter-Williams – 29
2012 Lillard – 29
2011 Irving – 28
2010 Griffin – 39 (I think we forget how good he was)
Only twice has the 25 line not been passed and Wiggins was close. And if Embiid had played more games in 2016, he would have won for sure and he was at 30. I think someone will step up. I don’t know who will do it, but someone likely will.
Interesting topic for sure.
What are these numbers?
Don’t forget the Warriors still hold a $9.3 million injury exception for Klay Thompson. A few articles said they will hold it until mid-season and pick up a key veteran for the playoff push.