Warriors will go as far as Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. takes them

Stephen Curry is the unanimous leader of the Golden State Warriors, but this team may only go as far as Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andrew Wiggins takes them.

The Golden State Warriors took down the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.

It was the final game of a terrible rundown of games on MLK Day, and it did not disappoint. The Lakers led for the bulk of the game but didn’t end on top. If there’s one thing that the game taught us, it’s that, when Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. are hitting, it’s difficult to stop this team.

Opponents have been focusing so heavily on preventing two-time MVP Stephen Curry from getting open that they have to sacrifice giving good looks to Oubre Jr. and Wiggins. On Monday, they were knocking them down.

The two combined to go 16-for-29 from the field and 5-for-13 from deep, totaling 41 points. They were excellent, and that’s not exactly how it’s been the entire season for either of the two. Oubre Jr. has gone through notable struggles, and Wiggins hasn’t been great for long stretches either.

Coming back from a 19-point deficit, the Warriors won by two with Stephen Curry making the last clutch three. Curry will come through in the clutch for the Warriors, but they must get in a position for him to deliver.

That’s where Oubre Jr. and Wiggins come in handy.

Bringing the energy, Oubre Jr. has scored over 15 points in four games this season. While that alone is disappointing, the team is a nice 3-1 when he hits the mark. If all four of those games, the Warriors were at least five points better than their opponent with Oubre Jr. on the court.

When he struggles, it’s a completely different story, and if you’ve been watching Golden State this season, you know exactly what I mean. The Warriors are 2-3 when Oubre Jr. doesn’t quite hit ten points.

As for Wiggins, it’s a similar story. When he’s playing well, the team is winning. He came in huge against the Lakers with back-to-back threes and helped score eight straight third-quarter points for the Warriors, cutting the league down to nine.

Wiggins has really started to come on as a defender as well. That’s been a major development for Golden State. Wiggins is on pace for his best defensive box plus-minus of his career this season. He’s currently notching the best block percentage of his career.

The Warriors need them to thrive in order to win. While Steph has been playing at an MVP level, the team really won’t be want to be relying solely upon Curry or players like Kevon Looney and Draymond Green to get it done offensively.

Golden State is in playoff position, and after they were given some horrific ratings from analysts to start the season, that should be considered a positive. If Oubre Jr. and Wiggins can play consistently, they’ll win even more often.