Golden State still trying to get right as they visit Celtics
Golden State still trying to get right as they visit Celtics
Will the Warriors add any help? Do they need to?
The Golden State Warriors are set to visit Boston since they knocked the Celtics out of the NBA Finals last year. This will be the second meeting between these two squads in this regular season, and previous results point towards why the Warriors may not feel a ton of pressure to add another player - even as the injury concerns drag on.
The good news is that Klay Thompson will play, and both Jonathan Kuminga and JaMychal Green are ramping up. Bad news is that James Wiseman is still somehow sideline with that ankle he rolled in a scrimmage 3-4 weeks ago. As has been the unfortunate pattern for most of his professional career, the biggest knock on Wiseman continues to be all the minutes that he misses. The Warriors didn’t plan for this. They expected Wiseman to play a role in the team’s rotations this year, and instead have mostly gotten an empty roster spot as Wiseman and other big deal with an assortment of random injuries.
For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown is poised to return from a short three game absence with an adductor injury. That’s the same injury that sidelined Andrew Wiggins for so long (and continually challenged my spelling and comprehension) so it will be interesting to see how well Brown rebounds in his first return action.
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (22-22) at Boston Celtics (33-12)
WHEN: Thursday, January 19th, 2023 // 4:30pm PDT ← EARLY!
WATCH: TNT
Will the Warriors add any help? Do they need to?
It’s not all about the money, but for what it’s worth, even a 10-day contract would cost the Warriors almost a million dollars. With a short-handed roster that has been so frequently shuffling it feels more like the default state than an exception, Golden State hasn’t felt like a defending champion… or more accurately, not like a normal one.
Because while it is certainly intriguing to think about reinforcements or roster revisions around the edges, the front office seems content to ride it out. It’s understandable that some would push for a change. Golden State has room to add a player on a 10-day; or they could do some sort of trade. While it’s all too easy to argue that the fill-in players aren’t likely to crack coach Steve Kerr’s rotation, there’s precedent - there are players out there that could help the short handed Warriors right now.
On the other hand, someone like Marquese Chriss isn’t going to save the franchise or anything. If you need additional convincing, dear reader, then look no further than the matchup against these same Boston Celtics earlier in the season. That was a home game for the Warriors, but they absolutely blasted the Celtics behind strong performances from their main guys. In that 123-107 win, it was the familiar duo of Klay Thompson (34 points) and Stephen Curry (32) that buried Boston.
At the core of it all, this team’s championship hope still rests fully in the hands of the core players that have done it all at the highest level before. Here’s Jaylen Brown working himself up about how different it’s all supposed to go in this year’s postseason.
“We’re not the same team as last year,” Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said. “They’re not the same team as last year. Some of us are not the same players we were last year. I’m not the same player I was last year. So you just see and read the game that’s in front of you. You don’t need to go in there with anything from behind in the past.”
Life is complicated though. Just look back to the earlier December matchup. Some things change all the time, but not everything.
Those needed big man minutes are a concern right now, but with Kuminga and JMG on the mend, reinforcements are coming. In the meantime, it’s back to what has worked for so long here in Golden State. Curry went for 41 in the team’s most recent game - a much-needed road win. Poole chipped in with 32 of his own points (including an incredibly important and timely late three to help close the game); and Draymond Green pulled himself out of an early malaise to end the game with a hefty 17 points, 10 assist stat line.
No matter what the issues are around the edge of the roster, you’ve still got to deal with Curry, Green, Looney, and Thompson.
Prediction
This one will come with some extra sauce, but the Warriors are plenty good enough to beat Boston, even without the full squad.
It'll probably take actually being in the playoffs, but would really like to see DDV in Poole's spot in the closing lineup.
So close. I spent most of this game in traffic, but tuned in just in time to see Steph not win it in regulation.
At least we have each other! Here's your postgame: https://dubnationhq.com/p/post-game-ot-heartbreak-thread-brown