Juan Toscano-Anderson provides a huge spark in Warrior's comeback win
The Warriors found themselves down 19 at one point in the first half of their Thanksgiving Eve game versus the Sixers. But thanks to Toscano-Anderson's twenty-five minutes of energetic play, they managed to claw their way back into the game and win. He was by far the best Warrior off the bench as he finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, along with 2 blocks, plus he made all six of his shots that he took. He also finished with a plus-minus of +21 and in the words of Anthony Slater, “It is the second sluggish game he’s flipped with his energy in the last week.”
As he walked back to the locker room, he told reporters, “It’s a great day to be a Warrior.” And he’s right and has proven time and time again why he has that warrior mindset at heart. He plays the game with passion and has made a name for himself in the league, something that many players struggle with. It was that passion and effort that paid off midway through the fourth quarter, faking a handoff to Steph and dunking on Andre Drummond, electrifying the crowd.
He also made a crazy circus shot layup a few minutes earlier to keep the Warriors in it and provide a spark of motivation for his teammates. While the circus shots are usually Curry’s thing, Juan was playing confidently all game, which is one of the keys to success when it comes to basketball. If you play like no one else can guard you, then you won’t worry about missing, and Juan did just that tonight, going perfect from the field and converting all his ferocious dunks down low.
This is exactly the type of game that Juan needed as we mentioned before that his minutes have been inconsistent this season. This increase in play may have been due to Iguodala being out for a stretch of games, but as some fans and even Steve Kerr have pointed out, Juan’s playstyle is very similar to Iguodala and Draymond’s. And he definitely showed it versus the Sixers, as he never gave up even when they were down by 19 points.
Give Kerr his props though, the team was playing sluggish, and he knew that inserting Juan would give them the boost they needed to pull out the win. It seemed in the first two quarters the coaching staff were struggling with the rotations, as Kuminga and Bjelica saw early minutes because of Draymond’s early foul trouble. But JTA and Otto Porter Jr stepped up big time for the Dubs as they needed someone off the bench to help them score and facilitate. Otto had a similar stat line to Juan’s but did miss some shots. JTA also was more of a facilitator, racking up more assists in Draymond’s absence.
If the Warriors can get consistent play like this from their guys off the bench, then the league might be in trouble as the Dubs still have Klay and Wiseman salivating at the chance to get back on the court. The key will be managing the lineups just as they did versus the Sixers, as everyone cannot play every single minute that they might hope. But this is a great sign for the fans as the Warriors still have the best record in the NBA at 16-2, thanks to Juan Toscano-Anderson's effort off the bench.
(Photo credit: Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)