Why Juan Toscano-Anderson is key for the Golden State Warriors success

The Warriors are going to have to play small-ball lineups for the foreseeable future, and Juan Toscano-Anderson may be the reason for the team’s success.

There’s no denying the next few weeks are going to be strange for the Golden State Warriors.

With Kevon Looney, James Wiseman, and Marquese Chriss all sidelined with Chriss out several more months, the Warriors will be short big men. They’ll have to turn to small-ball lineups, and those may define what success looks like for Golden State over the next few weeks.

While Draymond Green will be important in those, the Warriors will be putting quite a bit of trust in Juan Toscano-Anderson. The 6-foot-6 forward with a 6-foot-10 wingspan will either be at the four or the five for the foreseeable future.

So far this season, Toscano-Anderson has played well. Despite having just two points in the team’s most recent game, he did chip in ten rebounds which is enough to make him a serviceable stretch four.

Averaging 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, Toscano-Anderson has been most impressive as just a consistently efficient shooter. He’s shooting over 65 percent from the field which, for a player that averages 1.5 threes per game, is highly impressive.

Toscano-Anderson is also notching over 53 percent from downtown. That number is almost unsustainable for the forward playing in just the second season of his career. The Warriors are a better team with him on the court.

It’ll be mainly his rebounding that will keep him on the court though. However, with the Warriors at a loss for players that can rebound and have the wingspan of Toscano-Anderson, he may be the go-to forward if the Warriors ever revert back to small-ball lineups later in the season.

With Eric Paschall coming back soon, the Warriors should be able to get through the next few weeks even without terrific play from Toscano-Anderson, but it’s unlikely that Paschall can provide the same defensive length or three-point shooting.

When Golden State lost Andre Iguodala, it felt like there was a noticeable difference in their play style.

Even though Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were injured for much of the season, the Warriors didn’t have that veteran leadership that Iguodala brought. Toscano-Anderson has that calm composure and does similar things as Iguodala.

His impacts as a rebounder, three-point shooter, and defender will be why Golden State can withstand this big man shortage that they’ll have for at least a little while longer.