NBA in Threes: 5 starters combined for 266 points; Injuries for the Raptors
By Jade Johnson
Golden State Warriors
It seems like it’s going to be a long season for Golden State Warriors fans as this loss to the Houston Rockets team became their sixth loss in eight games. But, I’m the kind of person that believes that there’s a silver lining to be found in almost every situation if you really want to find it. In the case of the Baby Warriors (I really wish I could take credit for that nickname but I heard it from Cassidy Hubbarth during the broadcast) I didn’t have to dig that deep to find it.
The Golden State Warriors are a solid organization with excellent scouting. All of the young guys on this squad have potential if properly developed. The good news buried amidst all of the Warriors’ injury woes is that all of these young players are going to get play-time that is unheard of for rookies and other young players on a roster for a team that was in the NBA Finals just a few short months ago.
Those guys expected to be warming the bench and waiting for the GSW starters to create blowout leads so they could get minutes in garbage time. (Which was already unlikely to happen without Klay Thompson) Instead, they’re getting minutes on minutes early in this season. This has the potential to be good in one of two ways.
First, the floor time these guys are getting means drastically accelerated development compared to what they would have been able to do if Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the returning Warriors were playing. Next season, when those guys are healthy…even this season when Curry, Kevon Looney, and Draymond Green are once again starting, they’re going to have a bench that is simply better than they could have been otherwise.
The second way is that should the Warriors find themselves in a position where they’re looking to make some trades, the trade value of those young guys based on the experience they’re getting is going to make it easier for them to add the pieces they need to as they see fit.
It’s a safe bet that when all is said and done, the Warriors’ record this season isn’t going to be a pretty one. However, this isn’t the first of multiple years spent clawing back. They’re not going to be multiple seasons removed from the GSW form that we’ve become accustomed to.