The Good
Calling the Golden State Warriors’ bench “good” would be an understatement. They have been the best bench in the NBA this season and this beautiful blend of youth and veteran leadership has created a difficult rotation for opponents to plan for.
Juan Toscano-Anderson, Gary Payton II, Damion Lee, Otto Porter, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, Andre Iguodala and Nemanja Bjelica have all proven to be worthy of receiving nightly minutes. This gives the Warriors an insane depth chart of 13 players including the starters.
Even better are the varying skillsets across the second unit. Golden State can respond to anything their opponents throw at them with unique specialists who fill different needs. We have already seen defensive-oriented names like JTA and GP2 be deployed when needed. Likewise, Porter and Bjelica are routinely used to provide additional spacing.
Moving away from the bench, the emergence of Jordan Poole and solidified consistency of Andrew Wiggins has put the icing on top of the Warriors’ roster. Poole is a legitimate offensive threat now whereas Wiggins is a nightly contributor on both ends of the floor.