Warriors open preseason by stomping the Blazers, let's overreact!
Surely, Lucy won't pull the ball away again, go ahead Charlie Brown, boot it!!
I absolutely love this roster already. After living in the slums for so long that it felt like home, the Golden State Warriors have met some hardship. Veterans retired, Kevin Durant bailed because he just wanted to, and Klay Thompson sustained some pain that reverberated in the hearts of Dub Nation across the globe.
And yet here they are.
Early returns are promising
Maybe it’s me.
I do tend to have that Charlie Brown football punting viewpoint. “Maybe this is the year"?
Nonetheless (yes, that’s really supposed to be just one word)… Dub Nation came into tonight hoping for a glimpse of the vision and they got it.
First, the known knowns.
The Warriors’ core is legit. With Curry driving the offense, and surrounded by a combination of astute defenders and wily veterans, this Golden State team can hang with any other starters in the NBA. Add in a healthy Klay Thompson, and it’s not hard to get the Gold Blood flowing.
The preseason is for seeing what you have, and then messing around with the far end of your rotation. So for coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors, it looked like a pretty normal first half. Curry and Poole in the backcourt, with Avery Bradley getting the early nod off the bench (alongside Bjelica).
But forget the back end of the depth chart for now, Jordan Poole looked fantastic. Quick, long, and with a nose for the ball, he was the dominant player for the 1st half. It almost doesn’t matter whether he can sustain it all season or not, because Poole has certainly earned himself a good long look at that starting two guard spot.
Though it devolved into garbage time by the end, I think we got some excellent glimpses of Kerr’s general rotation. With guys like Damion Lee, Kevon Looney, and Andre Iguodala waiting on the bench, Kerr and the Warriors will be content to rotate smaller groups in, ensuring that there’s always some sort of offense on the court.
But if you’re looking for bright spots, it was for sure Poole.
It’s also worth noting that Otto Porter and Bjelica - the two primary signings of this offseason - were both pretty good tonight. Cutting, shooting and always willing to defend, it was real easy to see exactly what the Warriors’ front office saw that was intriguing enough to bring these two free agents in.
As always, we will have more coverage on this game tomorrow. For now, hop in the chat below and overreact. It’s fun!
A breakdown I suspect we are going to need at some point: "Jordan Poole, One Way Player." His first preseason game was outstanding on offense, but if you watch him on D, he's ball-watching and out of place a lot. I would love not to believe that, but I think his ceiling might be Lou Williams/Jamal Crawford. Instant O off the bench, poor D.
Time To Rise !
I felt like it was written for Warriors (a brand new song by a brand new K- band ) . I couldn’t find a single video clip. Start at 8:03. (Band name : Craxilver)
https://youtu.be/oBjOWH6_kRI