San Francisco — Klay Thompson washed up. Jordan Poole was a one-year miracle. Defense is not the same. Young people are not ready yet. Rotation messed up.
We all have some version of these storylines golden state warriors 500 in the first six weeks of the season, and seems to be healing the lingering hangover from last June’s championship run. And Saturday night they were due to run into his 21-5 Buzzsaw. boston celtics The team that led the league in wins, offensive efficiency and net rate. The matchup was his first since Golden State defeated Boston in the NBA Finals last season. If the Celtics win, we’ll be hearing about the “changing of the guard” every day until their next matchup in Boston in mid-January.
Instead, in front of a bustling Chase Center crowd that seemed to understand the stakes, the Warriors showed exactly why early-season concerns ultimately didn’t make much sense. 6 minute mark of the 1st quarter. All of Boston’s runs, despite their flaws, have been met with enthusiastic resistance from the Warriors group, who have lost only two home games so far this season.
“I thought we needed a game like that,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after the win. It feels like a lot, but not enough to indicate that, so this was an important win for us.”
The flashy story was Klay Thompson who was electric from the jump. Left for dead by both fans and media this season, Thompson scored 34 points on 14-for-26 shooting, including an 11-for-4 from the 3-point line. His fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry is a steadily breathtaking player, exuding the exact combination of perseverance and bravado that has made him impossible to defend for the better part of a decade. was Overall, he scored his 32 points on his 21 shots, a game-high plus his 20-minute record. Hmm. He also wrinkled one of his signature lookaway 3-pointers and asked the fans if it came in after giving the first quarter buzzer.
As exciting as Curry and Thompson’s offense was, Golden State’s defense was the story of the game. The Warriors were able to finish in the bottom 10 of the league rankings on Saturday with him scoring 112.7 points per 100 possessions, a far cry from the 106.6 points he gave up last season. With their best perimeter defender Andrew Wiggins out of the game due to an adductor muscle injury, Kerr chose to start pool in his place. So either Thompson or Curry ended up covering him one of the members of Boston’s dynamic duo Jaylen Brown and Jason He Tatum.
Call it instinct, but Kerr chose Thompson, whose defensive ability had dipped from his previous All-NBA standards, to start the game guarding Tatum, who is likely a likely MVP contender at this point in the season. Thompson quickly set the tone and prevented an otherwise easy layup by pinning Tatum’s first shot attempt to the glass. Thompson said that at least he hasn’t had a block like that in four years, so he felt “wow” and he plans to see the film again.
“I love competing on both sides of the ball, and Tatum and Brown are two of the better players in the league one-on-one,” Thompson said after the game. But playing against the best players is what we value as competitors, and it really doesn’t get much better than this.”
Thompson guarded Tatum and Brown at various points during the game, while Draymond Green and up-and-coming second-year forward Jonathan Cuminga The Warriors’ brightest spots in recent times, shared responsibility. As a result, his 6-for-21 shooting from Tatum included his knighthood, and 3-pointers from where he crossed the line, including his 2-for-9. The Warriors will be the first to admit they missed a few shots that an All-NBA forward typically does, but his 3-pointer, which leads the rest of Boston’s league, has the energy to clear his shooter off the line. And effort was there.
After being dropped from the rotation early in the season, Kuminga has developed into one of the Warriors’ most consistent defenders and has earned the trust of the coaching staff. It’s a learning process, and playing against his two top scorers in the league will only hasten the improvement.
“Especially if you get more matchups [Tatum and Brown]They like to move left or right and I know they like doing different movements on the floor. ”
The Celtics entered Saturday’s game with an offensive rating of 119.9, the highest in NBA history, and boasts league-leading marks in 3-pointers (16.6) and 3-point accuracy (40%) per game. The Warriors held them down to his 107 points and his 12-for-40 (30%) shooting from depth. Obviously the team misses shots, but Kerr thinks Golden State’s defensive tenacity caused problems for Boston.
“Our guys have done a good job playing with a lot of energy and trying to be challenged,” Kerr said. “We did a pretty good job of keeping them out of a good rhythm. But it was one game and it certainly wasn’t their best night. But it was a good night for us.” rice field.”
Given that the 14-13 Warriors’ next six games are booked against Giannis Antetokounmpo, the job now is to further tie these two-way efforts together. milwaukee bucks and suddenly red brooklyn nets, led by a familiar face in Kevin Durant.Golden State won’t play home games until Christmas memphis grizzlies.
But it’s about the Warriors. Even if they didn’t win on the road trip, Saturday’s win over the league’s best team shows what they have in the tank and could be waiting for their opponents when the postseason arrives. I have.
Curry said of Saturday’s victory over the Celtics, “These games prepare me mentally for what playoff basketball is like and try to be as present as possible in those types of games. It’s important in terms of figuring out how to build. It felt good to win a match like that tonight.”
