Still no Wiggins, but Warriors are ready for Boston anyways
Still no Wiggins, but Warriors are ready for Boston anyways
Celtics lining up a Golden State team with cracks showing
The Boston Celtics didn’t win the Finals last year, but they’ve come back with a slightly revamped system this year and have only lost five games so far this season. With the most efficient offense and best Net Rating, this Celtics team is for real.
The Golden State Warriors are real too, but not right now. After some stabilization, the Warriors are back down at .500. Partially due to injuries, and partially because their plan hasn’t come together as quickly as they would have liked, the Warriors are yet again hoping to turn the page and set a new tone… starting tonight.
Unfortunately, Andrew Wiggins will still be held out for at least one more game as he recovers from an abdominal injury that is being termed a right abductor strain. A doubly important loss against Jayson Tatum and the Celtics. But wait… Is that Kuminga’s music I hear?
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (13-13) at Boston Celtics (21-5)
WHEN: Saturday, December 10th, 2022 // 5:30pm PDT
WATCH: ABC
Difficult to judge at this point, or not?
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green will be back for this game, but still no Andrew Wiggins. The margins have been tight this season, and with about one-third of the regular season in the rearview, the Warriors have realized that those early struggles are probably going to be around for the long run this year. The stabilizing force that coach Steve Kerr and his staff found is heavily reliant on a rotation more focused on the veterans and core players. It’s not giving up on the next wave of talent, but more like a realistic reassessment of what it takes to reliably win games this season.
First of all, that’s funny timing for a speech from guy that just missed a game, but we move forward. Without Wiggins’ services tonight, the Warriors are going to be searching deep for defensive answers on the wing against Tatum. This is going to be a huge opportunity for Kuminga, who has begun to find a role as one of the more pesky one-on-one defenders for Golden State. His length and athleticism are natural advantages, but the more recent improvements feel a bit more mental - like the game is slowing down for him.
And this is where the ability to judge this team right now gets cloudy. Kuminga’s numbers are down across the board this season. His scoring rate is down, his efficiency is down. By traditional box score stats, it’s a down year, right?
But in the two games that Wiggins has missed, Kuminga has capitalized on his opportunity. 34 points on 14/17 shooting, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and only 2 turnovers. His defense has been the most visible change, but far from the only one.
While the Warriors aren’t necessarily winning as much as everyone would like, they’re putting in the time to develop their young players - with the end goal of it being better when it matters most.
So yeah, the Warriors might get smoked by the red-hot Celtics. And no, you can’t call these games entirely meaningless. Both sides are sizing each other up, and will remember certain plays when next they meet. But it’s a long road to the playoffs yet.
Clock is ticking, but the road is long. As they say, “you ain’t on thin ice, but you’re on ice.” Let’s skate!
Prediction
I think this is going to be an intense game. I’m less concerned about a win tonight, but let’s go out on a limb here and predict that Golden State finally comes out on the good side of a random ending.
Also, I’d like to take an extra moment here to appreciate Daniel Hardee and his recent accolades (as well as the esteemed good work of doctor Tom). It is an honor and a privilege to share space with you all. I’m not just an author here, I’m also an avid reader of this site. So on behalf of myself, and everyone else lucky enough to get to read Mr. Hardee’s work: thank you, Daniel! And a hearty congratulations!
I may not be an award winning journalist, but hot damn, that was fun! Come through to the post game please, I gotta go to a punk show: https://dubnationhq.com/p/ha-post-game-party-thread-turns-out
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