8-0! The Warriors won another game on Tuesday, this time dispatching the Pistons.
The Pistons have been a surprising team this season, mostly because of the insane play of Andre Drummond.
Andrew Bogut returned to the lineup for the Dubs, and his return could not have been timed better, as Festus Ezeli had his hands full with Drummond, and the Warriors couldn’t afford to have Festus in foul trouble with no clear backup.
Festus and Bogut held their own against the star center, however, holding the Pistons to only 15 boards. It seems like a lot, but considering he grabbed 27 the night before, I’m fine with 15. (That’s like Stephen Curry scoring 40 one night, and then only 25 the next. It’s still really good, but not crazy good).
The real story of the game, however, was the Warriors’ depth. The Dubs seemed to have the game all but wrapped in the early fourth quarter, but the Pistons stormed back. The Warriors then proceeded to fire off a 10-0 run to put away Detroit. Steph made two threes, and Klay — wait, what? Neither Steph nor Klay scored during the run? Well then Draymond had to have had one of those streaks where he — Draymond didn’t score either? Who scored then? Freaking Leandro Barbosa? Yes???? Oh lord. This team is too good.
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Yup, the Warriors 10-0 run was fueled by Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, and Harrison Barnes. The Warriors were able to put away the Pistons in a critical part of the game with 32-year old Barbosa (seriously, the fact that this guy is still good just goes to show how seemingly everything goes right for this team), Livingston, someone who suffered an injury so bad some thought he would never play again, and Barnes, who has been in the middle of trade rumours for most of his young career.
The Warriors are deeper than the cryptic tweets you send after going through a breakup. The Warriors are deeper than rap genius annotations of a J. Cole song. The Warriors are deeper than that one girl in your 11th grade English class who thought was a poet. The Warriors are deeper than every team in the league.
This was evidenced by the fact that one of the best defenders in the league, Andrew Bogut, came back from injury against one of the best centers in the league, and he didn’t even start. Ezeli had played so well that Luke Walton and Co. decided to limit Bogut’s minutes a bit, trusting Festus to play Drummond well.
And he did play Drummond well! What’s next? Ian Clark scores 40 against Russell Westbrook?
On a serious note, however, the depth of the Warriors is not something to be overlooked. Not many teams can sustain an off day from their MVP, and yet still be able to rally around each other and close out a win against a tough team. It would have been very easy for the Dubs to say, “Well, we won our first 7, but Steph isn’t feeling it tonight, we’ve had a few turnovers, the Pistons are coming back. I guess it’s time to pack up and try to keep it close.”
But the Warriors knew they had enough talent to look down their bench, call upon the reserves, and get the job done. If the Dubs are able to challenge the Bulls’ 72-win record, as some are saying, then they will have to win a lot of games like this, where not everything is clicking, but they will still be able to pull out a win.