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Takeaways as Andrew Wiggins goes nuclear in Steph’s absence

By

Jake Montero

/

The Warriors picked a good night to play maybe their best game of the season. With Stephen Curry out with a sore tailbone, Golden State handily won the first of a back-to-back vs. the Grizzlies in Memphis, 116-103. The win extended the Warriors’ lead in over the Grizzlies at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff standings by two games. Here are three takeaways:

The Best Wiggins

There’s “Good Wiggins”, there’s “Bad Wiggins” and then there’s the All-World version we saw on Friday night. When Stephen Curry is out, the Warriors need Wiggins to play like an All-Star to even have a chance. Because of his unpredictability on the offensive end, that usually makes Golden State’s chances without Curry fraught affairs.

Wiggins stepped up to the plate on Friday, however, with one of the best offensive games of his career. Never has he scored 27 points in a first half, a feat he achieved on 9-of-12 shooting with four threes, while also adding four boards, three assists and three steals. He, along with Jordan Poole, was the primary reason the Warriors found themselves up 19 at halftime. Wiggins finished the game with a season high 40 points on 14-of-24 shooting.

At his best, Wiggins is an elite iso scorer who can beat you with both his jumper and off the dribble. The Grizzlies are one of the better defensive teams in the NBA, ranked seventh in efficiency, but defended Wiggins on the perimeter as if he was Kevon Looney. They weren’t much better at the rim either. Wiggins got past the likes of Dillion Brooks and Grayson Allen with ease, using his combination of strength, quickness and finishing ability to score at will.

Remember, if Wiggins played like this consistently, he never would’ve found his way onto the Warriors. If he could channel this aggressiveness even a little bit more often, however, it would go a long way to making things easier for Stephen Curry when he returns.

Jordan Poole is legit

Speaking of making life easier for Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole is definitely going to do that for the remainder of the season and beyond. Before Wiggins went nuclear in the second quarter, Poole looked like the best player on the floor in his first start of the season, showing even more confidence in an elevated role. That confidence was clear from the opening tip, when Poole elected to take a 3-pointer during a 2-on-1 fastbreak 30 seconds into the game.

Poole has looked good in every game since his G League call up before the All-Star break, but Friday was the first time he showed the same ability with the ball in his hand consistently, finally given the green light by Steve Kerr to run the show a little more often, something he seemed to excel at last year.

Poole finished with 25 and had 17 in the first half. He did so with extreme efficiency, going 10-of-15 and 3-of-6 from deep. Since their call up, Kerr has had Poole and Nico Mannion as his second-unit backcourt, which mostly hasn’t worked. Mannion was dropped in the rotation on Friday, with Brad Wanamaker getting a look before him. It will be interesting to see if Poole is given the reigns with that reserve group, and if he shares a backcourt with a more natural wing moving forward.

Oh yeah, everybody else was good too

All in all, the Warriors just kicked the Grizzlies’ ass on Friday. Golden State entered this game as a 6.5 point underdog, but dominated Memphis in every facet. They shot extremely well (48.4%) and defended the Grizzlies with excellent effort, forcing 20 turnovers and limiting them to just eight made 3s. The ball movement was excellent, and often made the talented Grizzlies defense look like one of the worst Golden State has faced this season.

Kevon Looney (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) in particular was excellent in the continued absence of James Wiseman and Eric Paschall, overcoming an early scare when Jonas Valenciunas had 10 rebounds over him in the game’s first eight minutes. He did so on both ends, but surprised with an offensive contribution that included a 3-pointer and a couple impressive finishes around the rim.

Draymond Green was his usual self, scoring just one basket but adding 11 rebounds and 13 assists. Damion Lee made a case for being thrown back in the rotation with 21 points of his own.

As important? The Warriors shut down Ja Morant, who scored just 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. It didn’t stop him from attempting one of the most insane dunks you’ll ever see over Draymond Green.

Memphis will get a chance at revenge in the rematch Saturday. Curry remains questionable with a bruised tailbone.

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