What’s up with the Golden State Warriors?
The Warriors are coming off a relatively easy win in their opening night match-up against the Los Angeles Lakers.
While LA didn’t exactly put up much of a fight, Golden State also looked a bit rusty in its first game. The Warriors shot only 35.6 percent (16/45) from beyond the arc, a notch below their average last season. They also coughed up the ball 18 times, which is slightly higher than their average of 14.9 turnovers last year.
All that is nit-picking though. Steve Kerr is playing the long game and steadily looking to get everyone on the team ready for another long playoff run. That’s why he played a lot of the younger guys heavy minutes.
Last season’s Finals MVP showed that he didn’t need to ramp up anymore. Curry was in full midseason form, leading all scorers in the game with 33 points. He also added seven assists and four steals in an all-around performance. Wiggins and Poole, the two other core players who got heavy minutes, played well helping Curry out.
What’s up with the Denver Nuggets?
What was supposed to be a relatively easy win for the Nuggets in their first game against the Utah Jazz turned into a nightmare start for them. Not only did they lose to the Jazz, but they got straight up embarrassed by a rebuilding team.
The same problems that Denver had against the Warriors in last season’s playoffs emerged against the Jazz. The Nuggets have trouble defending players in space, most notably, Nikola Jokic. Just watch Collin Sexton abuse the MVP.
it has been 2.5 hours of this. Collin Sexton staring down the MVP and just going for the throat. love the hoof rev up too by the young bull. https://t.co/glUXlrzX0z pic.twitter.com/fWGyzeHuop
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 20, 2022
Denver allowed Utah to score 123 points on 50.6 percent shooting. The Jazz also got to the line 31 times, compared to only 18 for the Nuggets. Also worrisome for Denver is the fact that Mike Conley and Lauri Markkanen outplayed the returning Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
Conley and Porter Jr. are two key players for Denver this season. After carrying the load last season, Jokic finally gets back two weapons he can work with on offense. But in their first game, the two looked mediocre. Murray struggled with everything, hitting only five of 13 shots and dishing out only one assist. Porter Jr. was slightly better, but scoring only 15 when he is expected to be a 20-point threat is an issue for the Nuggets.
Storyline to watch out for
Can the Nuggets defend Curry? That was the question that was left unanswered when they were sent packing by the Warriors in the playoffs last year. After they failed the mock test against Sexton in their first game, they’re facing the real deal. The Finals MVP will definitely test their defense.
It will be interesting to see if one offseason has helped them find the answer to their Curry conundrum or if nothing has changed from last season.
Prediction
This one is a little bit tougher to predict only because Kerr might pull back on playing Curry heavy minutes. But the Warriors should still have enough in their coffers to pull out the win, even against a Nuggets team determined to play harder after an embarrassing performance against the Jazz.
Where to watch
You can watch the reigning MVP and Finals MVP battle it out tomorrow live at 10:00 AM on NBA TV Philippines, available on the Smart GigaPlay app and Cignal channel 262 HD.
