Golden State Warriors: Damion Lee delivers much needed hope

Damion Lee saved the day versus Chicago and his game-winning shot delivered some much-needed hope to the Golden State Warriors.

The Golden State Warriors haven’t exactly started the season as they planned. The Dubs were thwarted in their first two games, decimated in Brooklyn before being stomped on Christmas day in Milwaukee. And, had it not been for a last-second miracle from Damion Lee, they would have left Chicago empty-handed as well.

Lee buried the go-ahead bucket with a second to play as the Dubs trailed the Bulls by two. This capped off the first win of the night for Golden State and a 4-for-5 shooting performance from behind the arch for Lee.

Of all people, Stephen Curry must be sighing the biggest wave of relief. The two-time MVP finally looked like himself out there, posting 36 points despite a rough 5-of-15 shooting streak. Curry dominated the second half and put the Warriors in position to steal the game.

Andrew Wiggins stepped up as well. Wiggins scored his most efficient 19 points of the season while snagging 9 rebounds and dishing 4 assists. This extra scoring boost is what the Dubs needed to finally be competitive in a game.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Kelly Oubre Jr. – who is in the midst of the worst stretch of his career. Oubre shot 3-for-16 in this game, giving him an overall total of 7-for-40 from the field this season.

I would hope that Oubre will snap out of this at some point. I don’t see how the Warriors will manage to scrape by if Oubre continues to look like the worst player in the entire association. After all, it took a heroic play from Lee to take down the lottery-bound Bulls.

Yet, had Lee missed that shot, the Warriors would be staring down the barrel of an 0-3 start to the season. Oubre’s lackluster performances would be even more of a concern and the narrative around Curry’s decline would continue to build. Lee’s shot put a halt on any of that talk.

For at least one more game, the Warriors can live with some hope that this season might work out for them still. With Detroit next on the schedule and the Warriors’ first match at home coming soon – let’s hope for another step in the right direction.