Poole, Wiggins box the Raptors
Poole, Wiggins box the Raptors
Warriors restructured roster makes light work of Toronto defense
It wasn’t all that long ago that the Toronto Raptors took advantage of a rash of injuries to knock the Golden State Warriors out of the Finals. Watching Stephen Curry fight through contact all night was oddly reminiscent of those fateful Finals.
Only this time, the Golden State supporting cast was more than up to the task of dismantling a defense that was over-committed to stopping Curry.
In a sense, the Raptors game plan worked. Curry was slapped …err sorry, I mean covered… by defenders all night, limiting him to just 12 points. But the rest of the Warriors absolutely cooked Toronto all night.
Jordan Poole (33 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) was too quick and elusive, especially when his three point shot is falling like it did tonight (8 of 11 from deep). And Wiggins has been on a tear since that Timberwolves game. He was aggressive and really smart about choosing when and how to attack.
Man oh man does this feel good!
The Warriors have earned a couple of days off before running a multi-state gauntlet of playoff teams.
Are these the test? I feel like the next five or six games will be tough. The Warriors have been smashing through pretty much everything that comes their way, so we’ll have to see if the results are any different against some of the league’s better teams. I’m feeling pretty hopeful!
On the season…
Poole 22.3 pts per 36 on .583 true shooting
Wiggs 23.3 pts per 36 on .594 true shooting
Even Dray$ has suddenly found efficiency at his low volume (9.4 pts per 36 on .595 true shooting, to go with 9.6 reb and 9.2 ast).
Ws now have the #2 offense in the league, to go with their #1 defense.
More shooting nights like this from Poole, Wiggins, and Porter please, especially when the defensive intensity is still this high. (The passes to dudes not paying attention towards the end of the game, I could do without, but there's always something.)