The Golden State Warriors just pummeled the Trail Blazers Tuesday in Portland. Absolutely lit them up. It was a nice little confidence boost before OKC on Thursday.
Steph Curry scored 28 (23 in the third quarter), Kevin Durant added 20 on 9-of-15 shooting, Ian Clark scored a career-high 22 off the bench and the Warriors but a bottle on top Portland’s dangerous offense. Draymond Green and the boys are just too lengthy and ferocious for Damian Lillard to handle all alone.
It was as beautiful of basketball as we’ve seen from the Warriors to start the season. Here’s five observations we can make after four games.
- Durant is a hole-filler
He’s instant offense in so many variety of ways, it’s hard to keep track of. And while it could also be throwing some teammates out of rhythm, Durant is already proving his worth. When Klay Thompson is struggling, or the ball movement isn’t working, Durant is ready to attack the bucket or pull the trigger. He commands so much attention defensively. He is now the center of the offense.
Durant’s scoring talent is exactly what the Warriors needed last season in cold spells against the Cavaliers. A few buckets from him have been preventing 10-2 runs from an opposing team. He’s the ultimate safety net on offense and the Warriors are winning games first and foremost because of his rare scoring ability right now.
2. The defense really is key to everything
You saw the laughing and smiling from the Warriors bench late in the fourth quarter in Portland — why? Because this team is figuring out how to play together defensively. The Blazers hung tough, but they did not look as intimidating as they did in the Western Conference Semifinals last May.
“I thought the defense sparked the offense,” Kerr said.
Effort, communication and intensity are all finally starting to become prevalent every defensive possession. The energy was feeding into more aggressiveness on offense — the Warriors scored 60 points in the paints compared to the Blazers’s 28. The 36 assists were also a season-high and a product of a humming defense. Whenever Steve Kerr sees his team out of funk, he should demand them to step on the pedal defensively, and things will start to click.
3. Steph’s time to shine could be the third quarter this year
This third quarter thing is starting to become a trend. Against New Orleans, Curry scored 13 in the quarter and provided a much needed cushion. On Tuesday, it was 23 points in the third frame — 12 of those came when Kevin Durant went to the bench with 3:56 still left on the clock.
It appears Kerr is going to give Curry some room to breathe at the end of the third quarter, something Curry really seems to be relishing in. When he’s in attack-mode, both as a shooter and a driver, there’s really nothing a defense can do.
4. The bench is going to be up and down, and that’s okay
Clark may not score 22 points again this season. Although looking a step out of shape to start the season, Andre Iguodala was a +39 on the evening, a true testament to all the little things he does well. Shaun Livingston added 5 assists. This felt like more of a complete basketball team because of these three.
This is not going to be the Strength in Numbers unit Kerr coined a few seasons back, but half the time they’ll be able to provide a big spark. It made things much easier for the Warriors.
5. Klay is trying to keep up with the Jones’s
You can tell by his body language he’s extremely unhappy with his play — the 0-for-7 clip tonight from downtown felt desperate. His feel for the game is little off right now, obviously, because Durant is taking away touches. Thompson’s still averaging 16.5 shots per game, exactly on par with his number a year ago. But his shots this year appear to be more forced, as if he’s in a hurry because he’s unclear when his next shot opportunity it coming.
There’s also a reason it’s listed this low. His breakout game is coming. Some upcoming opponent is going to be a sacrificial lamb.