[ad_1]
That was ugly.
The Golden State Warriors looked like a team playing its first regular-season game in nine months in its 125-99 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
It wasn’t pretty from the beginning. The Dubs held an early 4-2 lead, but lost during the final 47 minutes of the game. Brooklyn was up 40-25 after the first quarter and never looked back the rest of the way.
Stephen Curry led Golden State with 20 points, while Kyrie Irving had 26, and former warrior Kevin Durant lost 22 for the Nets.
Here are five takeaways from the Dubs’ loss in the season opener:
Where is the defense?
Draymond Green cannot return soon enough. The Warriors couldn’t prevent a nosebleed with their defense. The Nets took advantage of Golden State’s slow rotations, which led to several open looks from beyond the arc. Brooklyn hit seven of his first 12 3-point attempts and began to pull away midway through the first quarter.
This was also an area of concern during the preseason. The Dubs gave up too many easy points in transition and were outscored 28-12 in fast break opportunities. The Nets were able to hit any shot they wanted throughout the game, and the Warriors offered little resistance.
“I think we got a little frustrated because our shots didn’t fall in the first quarter,” Curry said after the game. “We have some good looks, we miss a lot of them. It kind of deflated us, and that in turn took away the advantage on the defensive side. “
Green’s return should help settle things on the defensive end, but head coach Steve Kerr will need more of the rest of the roster going forward.
Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. fight
The duo are two of Golden State’s top three offensive players, but they certainly didn’t play that way in Game 1. Wiggins and Oubre combined for just 19 points on seven of 30 shots from the field, including two of 12 from the 3-point range, and had seven turnovers between them.
Kerr staggered his rotation, so Wiggins started the second quarter on the court with Curry and Oubre resting. The results weren’t pretty. The Dubs managed to score just five points in the first 5:41 of the second quarter before Curry returned to the game.
Wiggins had some good defensive plays, but that didn’t translate to the offensive end. Without Klay Thompson, the pressure is on the former No. 1 pick to be one of the top scorers. You need to be more of a force driving to the rim and not settle for jumpers.
Oubre had the opposite problem from Wiggins. Oubre plays with a lot of energy and forced too many shots in the game. He needs to learn how to be more effective without the ball in his hands and reach open spaces on the floor, which will allow Curry to dribble more freely.
James Wiseman’s debut
Wiseman started despite missing the first week of training camp and showed his potential. The rookie played 24 minutes in his NBA debut, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds and two steals.
“He played really well, he looked great out there. … We got crushed tonight, but James showed exactly why we’re excited about him, ”Kerr said. “He’s a very talented, smart and hardworking guy … he has a bright future.”
Wiseman has a lot of rebounding in his game and his athleticism shows up on screen. He didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on long-range jumpers, which was nice to see on the big ones. Wiseman has a soft punch from the outside, which is imperative for a center in the current NBA.
The 19-year-old needs to get stronger and work on his defensive positioning, but overall he had a solid first professional game.
It’s just the first game
Golden State dealt with many changes during the offseason, bringing in four players who will be critical parts of the rotation going forward. Kerr missed Green and Wiseman to start training camp, and the team will have much-needed practice in the weeks ahead.
There’s no need to hit the panic button, but if this continues past the 10-game mark, concerns will only increase. The Warriors need a lot of work if they want to keep up in a loaded Western Conference, but time won’t be on their side with the condensed schedule.
Things won’t get any easier with a Christmas Day game against the Milwaukee Bucks next. But the effort and overall execution should be much better on Friday.
What are your main takeaways from the loss?
