Golden State Warriors: Week 14 Recap
It was a short week in the Bay.
The biggest news surrounding the team came at the end of the week when news dropped that the Warriors traded center Willie Cauley-Stein.
In exchange for Cauley-Stein, the Dubs will receive Utah's 2020 second-round draft pick. Ironically, the Mavericks hold Golden State's 2020 second-round pick from the Andrew Bogut trade of 2016. While that return is fairly small, the move had important financial implications for Golden State.
Utah's 2020 second-round pick does not drastically alter Golden State's long-term fortunes-- on second thought who knows, Eric Paschall was a second-rounder. Getting Cauley-Stein off of the roster, though, definitely is important for the Warriors from a financial perspective. The Warriors have also been hovering just beneath the luxury tax apron for most of the season. Their acquisition of D'Angelo Russell hard-capped them at that number, and as a result, Golden State has spent most of this season with only 14 players on its roster.
By trading Cauley-Stein, the Warriors managed to shave the $2.2 million. That gives them $2.57 million in total underneath the hard cap, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. With that said, any new contracts that they sign would be prorated based on the amount of time left in the season. Put simply: the Warriors have enough money to actually fill out their roster now.
We already knew this, but the summer will be interesting. Until then, we have a season to finish.
Eight months after a Western Conference Finals showdown, the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers met in the Pacific Northwest on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Yes, two non-playoff teams had the last game for King Day.
Golden State played just eight players because eight players were all they had. Portland played just nine players because nine players were all they had.
And with all that said, the Warriors Trailblazer was arguably the best game of the day… reminds me of Christmas.
With Steph Curry sitting on the bench, Damien Lillard, put up 61 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, to just 2 turnovers. After each bucket and celebration, Curry sat nodding his head with a wicked grin.
Can’t wait for that matchup next year.
D’Angelo Russell had 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists, but shot just 9-27 from the field, 5-16 from deep, committed 6 turnovers, and had 5 fouls - but somehow they hung around.
The Warriors whipped the ball around the perimeter, racking up 30 assists. They scrapped, outrebounding the Blazers 60-54, despite being just 26th in the league in rebounding rate. They didn’t shoot well, but between rebounds and turnovers, they managed to take 16 more shots than Portland -- enough of a discrepancy to force five minutes of free basketball.
In the end, the Dubs lost in OT 124-129.
The league’s revenge tour came back to San Francisco as the Dubs hosted the Jazz. For the first time in a decade the Utah Jazz can say they swept the Golden State Warriors. The Jazz won all four matchups, and by an average margin of 14.8 points no less.
The Jazz ended their revenge tour with a 129-96 victory over the Dubs.
Golden State finished the week in the Bay hosting the Indiana Pacers.
D’Angelo Russell had 37 points for Golden State. The Warriors lost for the 13th time in 14 games and fell to an NBA-worst 10-37.
Golden State's plan to double-team Domantas Sabonis in the post allowed Indiana's big man to show off his passing skills and gave the Pacers plenty of open looks from the perimeter.
“Sabonis puts a lot of pressure on you,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s a really good dive man off the pick-and-roll. He’s a handful in there.”
Sabonis had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, T.J. Warren scored 21 of his 33 points in the first half and the Pacers beat the Warriors 129-118 on Friday night.
The next week will feature a home-stand with eastern visitors. The Warriors host Ben Simmons and the 76ers Tuesday night at Chase Center. After Tuesday, the Dubs hosts Kemba Walker and Celtics then John Beilein and the Cavs Saturday.
You can catch the Warriors and 76ers Tuesday afternoon at 4 PST on NBC Bay Area.