Curry, Poole, Warriors way too much for Nuggets again

Once again, Golden State rolled out the small lineup, and rolled over Denver

For the second game in a row, the Golden State Warriors absolutely smashed the Denver Nuggets. With Stephen Curry coming off the bench again, it looked like the Nuggets were going to make a tough night of it for the Warriors. Kevon Looney got whistled for two early fouls, and Aaron Gordon somehow went on a tear early.

And then, the Warriors unveiled their super weapon. The lineup combination so deadly, it’s spawned a naming race as people all over the internet scramble to coin a moniker. Personally, I’m liking PTSD (Poole, Thompson, Steph, Dray)

¹

but whatever you want to call it, it’s officially a problem for Denver.

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

Mid third quarter Jordan Poole: 21 points on 7/11 FG Steph Curry: 20 points on 8/11 FG Klay Thompson: 18 points on 8/15 FG

The trio would go on to post huge numbers.

Curry went nuts off the bench with 34 points in just 23 minutes (on 12 of 17 shooting, and 5 of 10 from deep). The Warriors were a +32 with him on the floor.

Poole was absolutely absurd. He took over the game, and once again looked like a guy that the Nuggets simply don’t have the personnel to stop.

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

Jordan Poole up to 57 points on 26 shots in this series 18/26 FG 10/15 from 3 11/12 on FTs

The Nuggets looked lost. Nikola Jokic got ejected after picking up his second technical foul. The bench was in near fisticuffs… I don’t know what the team can do differently, but you could sense the palpable frustration emanating from the sideline.

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

Final tally for the Poole-Klay-Curry-Wiggins-Draymond lineup in the first half: 22-8 in five minutes. They've now outscored the Nuggets 42-14 in 10 minutes this series. That's a +28. Completely changed the tenor of both games.

I don’t know what adjustments Denver can make, but they’ve got two full days off and a homestand to try and turn this series around. Right now, the Warriors have just made light work of them twice to open the series. The Nuggets are good primarily because of Jokic’s dominance. If he can’t shake free of the shackles that Draymond Green and Kevon Looney are putting on him, this team is sunk.

Also, Jokic is getting exploited on defense. They tried to “hide” him on Andrew Wiggins, and Wiggs was able to do just enough to make them pay. It’s a huge factor right now. Maybe this is just like a Klay thing, and the Nuggets aren’t going to look right until Murray returns.

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

Nikola Jokic ejected. He's needed 45 shots for his 51 points in this series. Warriors have done about as good a job on him as you can. Draymond Green has led the stand. Warriors are a +45 in Jokic's minutes in this series.

See you Thursday!

1. You know what else is rad about the PTSD lineup? Each one of those players was drafted by the Warriors.