Warriors Weekly: He’s Baaaaaaack!

It only took until early March, but the NBA season has officially started.  Sarcasm aside, the NBA did get a huge boost this past week as Stephen Curry returned to action for the Golden State Warriors.

3/3/20- @ Denver, W 116-100

Beating the Rockets on Christmas was the best win of the Warriors season… until last Tuesday. The Warriors, who were using three guys on 10-day contracts, absolutely walked the Nuggets in the Pepsi Center. Mychal Mulder, one of those players, even made his first career NBA start. What a start it was too as Mulder went 5-10 from three point land for 15 total points. 

Andrew Wiggins also had a game that fans in Minnesota wanted consistently out of him the past few years. Wiggins was engaged on both ends of the floor all night long, posting a 22/10/5 line on 9-16 shooting. Rookie Eric Paschall flashed his potential once again with a 22-point performance off the bench on an efficient 8-13 shooting effort. Fellow rookie Jordan Poole was also feeling himself to say the least. 

Denver has struggled since the All-Star break. They’re just 4-4 since the break and have not been able to pass up the Clippers in the Western Conference. In addition to losing to the Warriors, the Nuggets also fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the last week. Losing to the worst team in each conference after the All-Star break is never ideal for a hopeful contender.

Play of the Game: Eric Paschall and Marquese Chriss working beautifully in transition. 

3/5/20- vs. Toronto, L 121-113

Warriors fans’ long wait was over. The two-time MVP, Stephen Curry, was back. Golden State’s losing ways were also back unfortunately. 

Curry was back with style, though. He found Wiggins open under the rim and delivered a pass that had Chase Center in awe early. 

Curry would finish with 23 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Despite the loss, he showed signs of the Steph Curry of old, and that’s what mattered most in this game. “To me, it feels like it’s on again”, said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr after the game. 

Damion Lee, Wiggins, and Chriss each finished in double digits as well with 23, 21, and 17 points respectively. Lee would receive lots of criticism after the game, however. A series of missed shots and a bad turnover late in the game ended whatever possibility existed for a Warriors comeback against the defending champs. His teammate, Eric Paschall, had his back. 

Paschall would also finish in double digits, pouring in 16 points off the bench. 

Play of the Game: Yeah, he’s back.

3/7/20 – vs. Philadelphia, L 118-114

As soon as Curry was back, he was out again. This time, he would miss the game due to illness (not the coronavirus as the team confirmed on Twitter). The 76ers were without two stars in their own right in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Despite missing Curry, the Warriors managed to piece together a 55% shooting night and out-shoot Philly. 

If you look up “bounce back” in the dictionary, you’d find Damion Lee’s performance on Saturday night. Lee went 10-17 from the floor and paced the Dubs offense with 24 points. 

Mychal Mulder was impressive as well, setting a new career high with 18 points. Mulder has scored double digits in four of his last five outings. Paschall was dominant as the sixth man once again with 23 points off the pine. He’s been on a double digit scoring tear as well, finishing with 10 or more points in 11 straight games. 

It was a heck of an effort from Golden State in the fourth quarter as they entered the final frame trailing by eight points. It’s the Warriors first win at Chase Center since January. 

Play of the Game: The bowling ball that is Eric Paschall sure can get up.

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