Golden State Warriors should be the story from opening night
The Golden State Warriors should be the main talking point from the NBA’s opening night slate.
Heading into the NBA’s opening night, the Golden State Warriors were pretty much viewed as an afterthought. If it wasn’t the defending champions or the drama-filled Brooklyn Nets, it certainly was the new-look Los Angeles Lakers.
The Warriors, well they were just considered a participant. Especially considering that they were missing two of their top players in James Wiseman and Klay Thompson. Nevertheless, they sent a loud reminder to the rest of the Western Conference as they pulled away from the Lakers in the fourth quarter.
Even undermanned, the Warriors managed to spoil the debut of LA’s big three of Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. A fully healthy team could perhaps spoil another team’s championship aspirations.
The most impressive part of Golden State’s victory was that they beat the Lakers while Stephen Curry had a night off and with both LeBron and AD going for 30-plus points.
Curry had an off night shooting the basketball (5-21) but still finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. It was Golden State’s depth that stood out as they finished with six players scoring in double-figures and 55 bench points.
Conversely, the Lakers only had two players finish in double-figures and only had 29 points scored off the bench.
Golden State didn’t even offer up its best punch on opening night to the Lakers and still outlasted them in the final frame. It should lead you to believe that when this team is healthy and fully clicking together, that there’s no question this is a group that can compete with some of the other contenders in the West.
Of course, it’s one game. And it would not do anyone any favors to completely overreact after perhaps just an off game from the Lakers’ supporting cast, which is just starting to play together.
That said, while the Milwaukee Bucks looked impressive on opening night against the Brooklyn Nets, a strong argument could be made that it was the Warriors that stole the night.
Next. The Los Angeles Lakers Have Clear Rotation Issues. dark
Golden State didn’t just spoil the Lakers’ debut but they also added some intrigue to the entire Western Conference. Could the Warriors emerge as a true contender? They looked like they could possibly be one on opening night.