The Warriors have the sixth hardest remaining strength of schedule, but drew a friendly opponent in the Zombie Blazers for their first game out of the All-Star break.
Portland was without Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, and Nassir Little. The Blazers traded CJ McCollum to New Orleans — plus Norman Powell and Robert Covington to Los Angeles — at the trade deadline, signaling a second-half tank and forthcoming rebuild.
Though the depleted Blazers played hard and stood tight with the Warriors early, Golden State (43-17) pulled away for a comfortable 132-95 victory. Unselfish play and an impressive night from the bench helped GSW jump-start their playoff run as the regular season approaches the final lap.
Stephen Curry posted a double-double at halftime. Klay Thompson played under control and hit four 3s. Jonathan Kuminga made a career-high 10 free throws and played excellent on-ball defense. Jordan Poole (15 points, six assists) masterfully ran point for the second unit.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s strong all-around win.
The Anfernee Simons blueprint
The Warriors don’t quite have a player like Anfernee Simons, but they do have a few in a similar position to where he once was.
Simons entered the league at 19 years old in 2018. He struggled mightily in his first three seasons for Portland, but has now emerged as a dynamic scorer and someone the Blazers should want to build around.
But in those three years while Simons hardly cracked the rotation, he was doing an apprenticeship under Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. The Blazers brought him along slowly. He was the Aaron Rodgers waiting for Brett Favre. Or perhaps better yet, a Trey Lance behind Jimmy Garoppolo — and possibly Tom Brady.
Much has been made about how the Warriors have treated James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga. They’re Golden State’s raw, young talents akin to Simons a few years ago. For them, just like Simons, it’s not going to click overnight.
Simons, who finished with 24 points on 7-for-14 shooting Thursday, is just a reminder that not all development is linear. And sometimes it pays for franchises — and fans — to be patient.
Running the Run N’ Gun
The Blazers want to play fast. Over the past couple weeks especially, they’ve emphasized transition and getting downhill. Steve Kerr noticed and he called it out pregame.
So Golden State met their tempo.
At one point in the second quarter, the Warriors scored on four straight possessions with on the fast break or in semi-transition. It started with Curry taking advantage of cross-matchups by looking off three defenders and finishing easily inside. Then he found Damion Lee with a long hit-ahead diagonal pass; Lee tranced in for a euro step layup. Another long outlet to Jordan Poole turned into a pull-up 3, and then a touchdown throw to Jonathan Kuminga earned free throws.
In Portland’s building, Golden State was playing at Portland’s preferred pace and doing it better. Those plays started a 14-0 Warriors run.
GSW finished with 18 fast break points, most of which came in the first half when the score was still respectable.
Ball movement on point
The Warriors scattered all over during the All-Star break, but that didn’t prevent them from looking as connected as they have all year.
There were several ping-ping-ping ball movement sequences when players passed up good shots for better shots. Patented Warriors drive-and-kicks and dump-off pass to cutters for easy buckets.
Curry, fresh off his 16 3-pointer performance in the All-Star Game, led a contagious passing charge. He dished a season-high 14 assists in just 27 minutes.
Hardly ever did the Warriors isolate. As a team, Golden State assisted on 36 of its 45 made baskets.