The Golden State Warriors’ awful luck just keeps on coming. Stephen Curry broke his hand in their recent loss and will be out indefinitely, leaving Draymond Green the only healthy member from the main core of the team’s championship runs.
The San Antonio Spurs, meanwhile, are fresh-off their first loss of the season, and will be itching to return in the win column.
Are the Warriors officially lottery-bound?
Hard times may be on the way for the Warriors and their fans. The Dubs are now 1-3 and have faced 20-plus-point deficits in each loss, miles away from the glory days of the last five years. Defense is among the glaring hole within the roster – 28th in points allowed per game (126.2) and dead-last in defensive rating. Green is a premier defender but even his best night on defense won’t be enough to carry the Warriors to a good half – yes, a good half.
Who will step up?
With Curry sidelined, All-Star newcomer D’Angelo Russell is the only viable threat the team has on offense, and he’s been off thus far. He’s yet to rise from a slow start and has only averaged 16.3 points on 39%-shooting. The other off-season acquisition, Willie Cauley-Stein, had his season debut this past Thursday, and though his usual energy is there, it’s tough to assume that it can be reliable all season.
The Warriors also have a handful of young pieces to work with – Eric Paschall, Omari Spellman, Jordan Poole, and Jacob Evans. They’ll continue to produce decent numbers here and there, but don’t count on them to turn the team around (at least for now).
The win is for the Spurs to lose
With all that considered, the pressure is on the Spurs to earn an easy win, maybe one of the best chance they’ll get all year. Keep in mind, though, there’s also the weight of playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
On Friday, the Spurs visited the Los Angeles Clippers and got edged out, 103-97. They couldn’t stop former ally Kawhi Leonard, who punched in 38 points, 12 rebounds, and four steals. Such a problem won’t be present this Saturday, and the Spurs – especially the rotation guys – should have an easier day at work.
As always, DeMar DeRozan (23.7 PPG) and LaMarcus Aldridge (17.2 PPG) will be the guys to lookout for. Aldridge, in particular, should be eager to have a bounce back performance. He was silenced by the Clippers defense and could only muster five points and five rebounds in 36 minutes.
Derrick White could also contribute well again. He has come out solid from the bench in the last two outings, scoring 21 and 20 points on a combined 63.6%-shooting.
PREDICTION:
The Spurs win, but regardless of the outcome, it will be interesting to watch how the two teams’ young players fare against each other.
