Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Opening Night Disaster
5. It Wasn’t ALL Bad
It’s hard to find many positives in a 29-point beatdown at the hands of Golden State’s biggest threat in the West, especially when it comes at home…on opening night…coming off a 3-1 Finals collapse…after signing Kevin-freaking-Durant.
That being said, it wasn’t ALL bad for the Dubs, even if the negatives drastically outweighed the positives. We start with what many would assume to be the main source of concern in a situation like this, the new superstar addition.
On the bright side, anyone worried about Durant being too passive or trying not to step on anyone’s toes was quickly reminded why he’s seen by many as an even better scorer than Steph Curry.
Durant wasted no time making himself at home in his regular season debut at Oracle, starting the game off with nine quick points on 4-of-4 shooting. He operated mostly from the midrange on iso sets, but he also drilled an open three in transition to bring the crowd to its feet.
Steph should get an assist for this. Pulled KD's man to the lane on his cut. https://t.co/fni5sd52a4
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) October 26, 2016
Notice how Curry running the lane drew in multiple defenders, freeing KD up for the wide open triple? That gravitational pull is going to give Durant more quality looks than he’s going to know what to deal with all season long.
It was an ugly game for most of the night, but plays like those — not to mention Durant’s final stat line of 27 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks on 11-of-18 shooting — showed just how well his all-around production and shooting touch will fit in on this team.
Curry got off to a slow start, but he still managed to finish the game with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting thanks to an 11-point second quarter. The two-time reigning MVP only made three of his 10 three-point attempts, but he wasn’t bashful about getting shots up.
Even Draymond Green, who many have worried about in terms of diminished production giving way to resentment, finished with a well-rounded stat line of 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals.
For the most part, the key contributors did their jobs. Golden State actually out-blocked the Spurs 6-3, meaning that for at least one night, rim protection wasn’t a huge issue. The final numbers feel empty, but not everything that happened Tuesday night was an outright travesty.