Heading into the season, Las Vegas oddsmakers pegged the Warriors’ win total over/under at 48.5. With Sunday’s 128-107 drubbing of the New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State finished with a 53-29 record as the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed.
The Athletic’s Anthony Slater joined 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast” Monday to preview the Warriors’ first round matchup against the No. 6 seed Denver Nuggets. You can hear the full interview below:
Considering the injuries the Warriors endured to stars Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Steph Curry in succession, and that James Wiseman’s second season was wiped out due to injury – Slater graded Golden State’s season as an A- or B+, saying it’s “stunning” to see the team finish the regular season with the NBA’s third-best record.
“There were turbulent times, but I think all in all – you grew the rookies, you found a potential star in Jordan Poole, which is crazy to say,” Slater said. “The Wiseman part of it is probably why you can’t grade it in the ‘A’ category, but in general I think they’re going into the playoffs with a legit shot to contend for a title. We didn’t know that was the case entering the season.”
Draymond didn’t appear in any of the four contests against the Nuggets in the regular season and his presence should aid greatly against MVP favorite Nikola Jokic, who averaged 28 points, 15.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game against the Warriors this season.
Slater pointed to last year’s Nuggets playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, when Deandre Ayton was able to hold up against Jokic one-on-one and they didn’t have to consistently collapse the defense with double teams.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Saturday that Jamal Murray (ACL surgery recovery) and Michael Porter Jr. (back surgery recovery) aren’t expected to appear in the postseason, meaning Jokic won’t have his top two sidekicks.
“Because you could guard (Jokic) one-on-one in the post, the other defenders could mostly stay home,” Slater said. “In Denver, without Jamal Murray, just doesn’t have enough creators. There’s a reason Jokic is going to win MVP as a six seed – his supporting cast isn’t very good. I think Looney should be able to survive without constant double teams and Draymond, in particular, when they go small they can speed it up and exploit Denver on the other end.
“If Draymond can just basically bat 50/50 with Jokic in post-ups, which he should be able to do, then you don’t have to double a bunch and he can’t really do his whole, pick-you-completely-apart type offense. I just don’t think the others are good enough, so that’s where I guess you would say the advantage for the Warriors should be.”
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As for Steph Curry, who missed the final 12 games of the regular season with a left foot sprain, he’s expected to return to the practice floor with the team this week. An update from the team is expected Monday. Golden State is slated to practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with a scrimmage included.
“If he’s feeling good enough off Tuesday’s practice and he’s able to get through it without enough soreness and go through a full scrimmage and feels good enough, then he should be able to play Game 1,” Slater said. “They’re certainly keeping that on the table, but there’s also a gamesmanship aspect and a cautiousness aspect to the way (director of sports medicine nad performance) Rick Celebrini’s operated all season. My guess is it won’t be official until Friday at the earliest, maybe even Saturday. I could see them even putting a questionable tag on it.”
In the scenario Steph has a setback and has to sit out the first round, can the Warriors still beat the Nuggets?
“It probably turns into somewhat of a toss-up,” Slater said. “Can they? Yes. Denver doesn’t have two max (contract) guys. That cannot be understated. Jokic has dragged them to this point. The way the Warriors have caught a rhythm, if Klay remains hot, if (Jordan) Poole looks like Steph Curry diet coke or whatever you wanna call him, yeah they can. But obviously, it’s a lot more difficult.”
