Game Report: Warriors annihilate Pelicans, move to 7-1

Two things we learned

1. Warriors may have the best bench in the league

The Dubs could scarcely survive last season when Curry hit the bench. Now, after some off-season additions and in-house improvement, they’re thriving with him off the floor.

Steve Kerr’s not afraid to go deep into his bench and give them important roles, evident by the fact the Warriors lead the league in bench minutes.

They outscored the Pelicans 57-30 in bench scoring, taking them to third in bench scoring across the league behind the Heat and Pistons. The bench also has the highest net rating league wide at 9.4.

2. Wiseman still a vital piece to the rotation

If there’s a player that has been struggling a little this season, its starting center Kevon Looney.

His +4 in 11 minutes, although not bad, was the worst of the Warriors players against the Pelicans. His season plus/minus of +17 sits well behind the other four starters – Curry (+76), Poole (+65), Green (+56) and Wiggins (+46).

Maybe that’s a bit unfair given he doesn’t play as much as those four, but still, although he’s a valued, experienced member of the team, he is flawed. There’s minutes there for the number two overall pick should he be good enough to take it, his length and athleticism will give them an option Kerr doesn’t have at his disposal currently.

The Warriors now sit at 7-1, a league best tied with the Utah Jazz. They’ll go in heavy favorites against the young Rockets at home on Sunday.