Golden State Getting Better, Holds Commanding 2-0 Lead over Denver
The Golden State Warriors were virtually unstoppable just a few years ago, when Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant formed the league’s most frightening offensive trio. Now with Durant long gone commanding his squad in Brooklyn, the Warriors have now been able to regroup and now have a team that rivals the perimeter dominance Golden State once had.
A large part of this rejuvenance the Warriors have had has to do with the emergence of guard Jordan Poole. A player who just last season was playing games for their G League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors, Poole has shown the NBA world this year that he has the talent to be a star in this league. Through the first two games of the series with the Denver Nuggets, Poole has been averaging 29.5 PPG while shooting a ridiculous 86.1 true shooting percentage. To put that into perspective, he has a 65.5 FG% and is shooting 58.8% from downtown.
This is absolutely absurd, as Poole is playing to the level of his elite shooting teammates Steph and Klay. However, Poole isn’t the only one who deserves praise for how the Warriors have been playing to start the 2022 NBA Playoffs. He is not the only player doing well either.
Andrew Wiggins has gone from being the second-scoring option on the Warriors this season down to the fourth and has filled the role perfectly, getting 14.5 PPG and 8.5 RPG shooting efficiently from three. In addition, this Warriors team is still led by their defensive captain in Draymond Green, who’s impact playmaking and defensively keeps this team a well-oiled machine.
The reaction from the first two games of the series looks like the Warriors could return to the Finals for the first time since the 2019 season, where the injury-riddled team fell short of a three-peat to Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors.
Heading into Game three in Denver though, it is important that the Warriors continue to utilize their perimeter scoring and focus on limiting the impact of reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Even though Jokic hasn’t been good at all through the first two games, it is unlikely that he stays quiet for too long. Therefore, Golden State will need to do their best to neutralize the talent around Jokic and eliminate his elite playmaking abilities. Golden State has done a good job of this so far, holding him to just five APG, but it is crucial that they don’t let the foot off the gas heading into Game 3.
If Denver wants to avoid a 3-0 deficit, they will not only need a big game from Jokic, but from their supporting cast that lacks any star power. This Denver team looks completely different than what they were expecting it to look like at this point in the season, as injuries have kept this team from being the best version they can be.
Is Nikola Jokic ready to produce a big-time game for the Nuggets?
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Star guard Jamal Murray has been sidelined with an injury dating back to last season, a player who provides All-Star caliber guard play on the wing and the ability to handle the ball when Jokic is off the court. In addition, Denver has also been without forward Michael Porter Jr., who suffered an injury this season that has sidelined him for a majority of the year.
At this point, Denver’s season appears to be coming to a close sooner rather than later. The star power of Golden State is simply too much for Denver to handle, as their second-leading scorer this season has been Will Barton, a player who has spent most of his career as a role player. At the end of the day, don’t be surprised if Denver can win a game at home on the back of a monstrous Jokic game. However, this series seems unlikely to go beyond 5 games. With a win on Thursday night, Golden State will turn their attention towards game planning for their next series, where they will face the winner of Memphis/Minnesota.
