After an impressive win over the New Orleans Pelicans in the season opener, the Golden State Warriors hit the road for a back-to-back series against the Houston Rockets and before facing the Pelicans again.
So, can the Dubs go full Drake and win back-to-back?
The Rockets will prove to be a considerable challenge. The Warriors defense struggled a bit in the early going against the Pelicans, allowing 35 points in the first quarter. Of course, there’s a huge chance that the team will be distracted from the banner unveiling and ring ceremony (did y’all see those rings though?), and that it will be hard to focus on playing defense after putting on almost a pound of diamonds on their fingers. I would be distracted too.
The Dubs will have to make sure they are focused against Houston, however, because no matter how much it pains me to admit it, the Rockets are pretty solid. The addition of Ty Lawson means that James Harden will able to play without the ball a little more, taking some pressure off his shoulders. Interim head coach Luke Walton will be tasked with coaching his first road game, and it is imperative that he is able to get the team in the right mindset quickly. Stephen Curry can’t drop 24 points in every first quarter (though that would be great for my fantasy team).
Another challenge with facing the Rockets and Pelicans will be the absence of Andrew Bogut. Bogues went full Aussie and sustained a laceration above his right eye, even though he was wearing a mask for his broken nose, and was diagnosed with a concussion on Wednesday. His return is uncertain.
Bogues went full Aussie and sustained a laceration above his right eye, even though he was wearing a mask for his broken nose
The Rockets boast Dwight Howard, and Festus Ezeli will have his hands full with the All-Star. We could see some more small ball against the Rockets in order to get Howard off the floor, which may mean more minutes for James-Michael McAdoo and Marreese Speights.
In the backcourt, Harden always proves hard to guard, and Klay Thompson will have his work out cut out for him. Curry, however, will most likely be out for blood after Ty Lawson’s “chilling” comments the Rockets guard made before the season. I fully expect 7 steals and 5 blocks for Steph, and for Lawson to get schooled multiple times.
The Pelicans, on the other hand, are less of a challenge for the reigning champs. In the Pelicans’ two games, opposing point guards have scored 40 and 37 points. Curry, obviously, put up 40 while C.J. McCollum dropped 37 on New Orleans Tuesday night. You would think that the Pelicans would focus on Steph more next outing, but if they weren’t focusing on the MVP last time, then what were they doing? But if they do double Steph, then I guess Klay can just mess around and drop 40 in a quarter again.
Anthony Davis will always be a problem, as always. This guy hasn’t even come close to hitting his peak yet. But, the Warriors defended him pretty well, and they probably got a little lucky with a couple of missed shots that Davis would usually make, but Green defended him beautifully.
Overall, the Dubs will have a hard time winning both games of this back to back. They have an inexperienced coach on his first road trip, and the pressure of playing two teams they eliminated in the postseason last year. I don’t see why they won’t be able to pull out two victories, however, and I could easily see Curry and Co. winning both games by more than 10.