The Golden State Warriors look like legitimate title contenders this season. They have the best record in the NBA following a 120-107 win over the Houston Rockets. They have scored the second-most points per game (113.9) and allowed the second-fewest (100.2). Head coach Steve Kerr’s squad has been feasting on the back of dizzying ball movement and throttling defense. The Warriors left the Chase Center with another win Sunday despite running into some foul trouble in the first half. It was an offensive back-and-forth for much of the first half, but a 20-2 Warriors run in the third quarter sealed the victory. Guards Jordan Poole and Steph Curry led the way in scoring, with 45 combined points. Forward Otto Porter Jr. flashed his smooth shooting once again to chip in off the bench as well The Rockets were the first team to shoot better than 30% from three-point range in a game since Oct. 26 when the Oklahoma City Thunder hit 35% of their looks from deep. The Warriors have played five games since then, winning all but one – an overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Warriors put up a solid shooting night, hitting 51.8% from the floor and 32.6% from deep. It was the ball movement that stole the show, though, as they assisted 31 baskets as a team Sunday. Here are some player grades from the win. Sporting a new haircut, star guard Steph Curry put up a respectable 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting with four threes. He found himself in foul trouble in the second quarter, but, like the rest of the team, he figured that out in the second half. His plus-16 was the highest among the starting unit as well. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter, likely due to the Warriors’ back-to-back. Overall a solid night for Curry. He has not had to shoulder as much of the scoring load with the rest of the lineup picking up the slack. He was also visibly engaged with teammates when he was on the bench. Forward Draymond Green has been an active participant in the Warriors’ passing game this season, hitting back-door cutters and kicking the ball to open shooters. He led the team in assists Sunday with nine to go alongside eight rebounds and six points. He also chipped in a block and a steal as well.
This type of stat-line is fairly normal for Green, but he also had six turnovers and four fouls on the night too. That’s where his grade suffers. He did, however, make some nice plays, including a full-court dash for a loose ball in the first quarter that got some of his teammates going. - USA TODAY
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2022
Categories |