This Golden State Warriors’ team cannot score without D’Angelo Russell
The Golden State Warriors still want to be competitive, but it won’t happen if D’Angelo Russell is watching from the sidelines.
Out a second straight game with a shoulder injury, D’Angelo Russell, the Golden State Warriors premier offseason addition, has been the engine that’s kept this offense, and team, afloat in what will be a forgettable season.
This dynamic was perfectly on display against the Minnesota Timberwolves last night.
The Warriors scored just 19 first-quarter points and were held under 20 in a quarter twice. This is what happens when you have no true superstar captaining your offense. The Warriors put up a mere 84 points.
The only player on the floor that has even sniffed an All-Star game is three-time All-Star Draymond Green. With a disappointing year unfolding, Green scored just two points in 22 minutes of play.
The Warriors lost by 15 to another one of the West’s worst teams.
But, in some regards, this was to be expected. The Warriors are the worst team in the Western Conference, and when their three best players are all out with injury, it certainly doesn’t bode well for their success.
However, as we’ve also seen, Russell is the catalyst for this team.
The Warriors are 9-27, potentially looking forward to the top odds for the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft in the near future. However, with Russell on the court, the Warriors are 7-15. While that’s still awful, they’re just 2-12 with him on the sidelines.
Averaging a career-high 23.2 points per game, Russell’s taken his game to the next level, but his absence for 14 games has forced Golden State to still not have double digits in the win column. That just further goes to show how well he’s played this season and his impact while on the court.
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With three more years on his contract, it’d be shocking to see the Warriors actually put the 23-year-old on the trading block given his success in the Bay.