Strength In Numbers? Warriors Flash Back to the Days of Old In Big Win
This was a huge win. Coming off four straight losses for the first time in 8 years, the Warriors came out alert and decisive and pulled off a big 131-119 win over the NBA’s current best team, the Utah Jazz.
Even though Stephen Curry contributed an impressive 32 points and 9 assists on his 33rd birthday, this win wasn’t just thanks to him—it was thanks to the whole team. The Warriors shot an impressive 56% from the field and maintained an even more impressive percentage from 3 point range, shooting 51% percent behind the arc against the league’s leading 3 point shooting team in the Jazz. But, although these stats are impressive, the keys to the game lie in some unlikely places.
The most “unlikely” place? The coaching staff. Sure, a lot of credit should rightly be given specifically to Wiggins, Wiseman and Poole (and an honorable mention to Draymond Green for yet another triple double), but the Warriors coaching staff coached a great game today. Instead of riding out long stretches with unbalanced scoring and defense as they have in the past, the coaching staff did a great job of integrating new rotations that consisted of a mixture of second-unit and first-unit players. Two rotations were especially successful: Bazemore, Wiseman, Steph, Draymond, Wiggins and Steph, Poole, Oubre, Wiggins, Draymond. The Warriors were a combined +14 in the minutes with these lineups on the floor.
As for the new second unit, they played well today, but it’s no secret that the Warriors’ typical second unit this season has been… bad, to put it mildly. It seems like every time the Warriors have carried a lead into the 2nd or 4th quarters, that lead evaporates immediately and the first unit is left playing catchup in crunch time. However, today was different. Coming off a rough game against the Clippers, the Mannion, Poole, Oubre, JTA and Wiseman second unit did their job against the Jazz. They posted a net rating of minus-3 in the first 6 minutes of the second and fourth quarters, which is a huge improvement.
Speaking of Wiseman and Poole, the two young guns were the stars of the second unit, as they combined to score 34 points and gave the bench unit’s scoring capability a much-needed breath of life. In fact, Poole has been particularly impressive as of late, scoring 58 points off the bench in the last three games while shooting 57% from the field and 48% from behind the arc. Jordan Poole becoming a consistent scoring threat off the bench is a huge development for this team, and the Dubs are going to need a lot more of it if they want to secure a decent seed in the playoffs.
If we’re talking about consistent scoring threats, that’s what Andrew Wiggins must be for this team to have a chance at contending against the league’s best teams, and that’s who he was today. Wiggins was phenomenal, scoring 28 points on an ultra-efficient 12-16 shooting from the field, including going 3-4 behind the arc. Wiggins' defense has never been a problem this season, but, as we read in Joshua Morgan’s previous article, his offensive output and efficiency took a nose dive in February. Today, Wiggins looked energized, decisive and sure of himself, and when you get an Andrew Wiggins that believes in his abilities, you get someone who is one of the toughest players to stop in the league.
Overall, today’s win against the Jazz is a win the Warriors can build on. The secret to their success ultimately starts with beginning games focused and with a detail-oriented mindset, but when you add solid rotations, bench play and scoring support for Steph Curry to the mix, the formula for this team’s long-term success is created.