One week in to the 2020-2021 NBA Season, things have been all over the places -from the blowout party on opening night, to the early game of the year candidate clash between Boston and Milwaukee, and then the 51-point beatdown that Dallas put on the Clippers.
It’s been a heck of a ride in the early stages of the season so far.
And one of the things that caught the eyes and the interests of the fans and critics are the early struggles of Golden State.
With the return of the two-time league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Stephen Curry, along with the arrival of Kelly Oubre Jr. as well as the versatile play of Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green, everyone expected the Warriors to return to form.
However, things have been rough out of the gates for arguably the most dominant team of the 2010s.
In their first two games of the season, Golden State suffered two blowout losses at the from the hands of two of the top teams in the East; Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
In their season opener, the Warriors lost to Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Nets, 99-125.
And then on Christmas Day, reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to a 138-99 win over Golden State.
The only win of Golden State so far came in its third game by beating Chicago in a nail-bitter game that had the fans at the edge of their seats.
Damion Lee was the hero in that game after he drained the game-winning shot that had Curry all hyped up.
Prior to this win, well, even after the win to be honest.
Fans are still a tad worried with the early woes of the Warriors as they don’t look like a team that can compete with the likes of Dallas, Denver, Clippers or the Lakers, despite Curry averaging 25.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 7.3 APG and 1.7 SPG early on.
But I won’t be talking about whether fans should panic with Golden State’s slow start. On this one, I’ll be talking about the big positive factor that is James Wiseman.
The second-overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft is looking like he’s in a perfect situation.
Playing with Curry and Green under the system of Steve Kerr, Wiseman is flourishing early on.
In his first three games in the league, the 7’0 tall big-man is already looking very comfortable in the early stages of his career.
He’s been averaging 18.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.3 BPG on 46.9% shooting at the field.
In his debut game, against talented young big in Jarrett Allen and former All-Star DeAndre Jordan, Wiseman held his own putting up 19 points, six rebounds, two steals while shooting 53.8%.
And then in his second game of the season, against Antetokounmpo and veteran big Brook Lopez, Wiseman put up 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
In his first three games, Wiseman is already proving that he is that perfect big-man for a team like Golden State.
Capable of getting his own points but still be able to rely on his teammates as well run the floor well is definitely a great asset for a Center playing with the Warriors.
He is also the piece Golden State direly needed in the middle in the past few years. Early on, Wiseman is looking like the Center for the future for the Warriors.
But as far as this season is concerned, Wiseman would still have to do more in order to turn the Warriors back to its championship form. They ultimately will continue to miss Klay Thompson as he recovers from his latest injury, but it’s good to see that Wiseman may have found a good fit.
Do you think Wiseman will be the ROY? Sound off below in the comment section!
