The Golden State Warriors are more than likely going to be without Stephen Curry for the rest of the regular season, and in order to keep their place in the standings, they’ll need some role players to step it up.
The Dubs have lost 4 in a row. In that span, Jordan Poole has averaged 28.3 points per game with Klay Thompson at 25 per game and Andrew Wiggins sitting in third place at 15.3. Those are the only 3 Warriors in double figures over their last 4.
With Stephen Curry sidelined with a sprained foot, the Warriors need more help from their role players as they look to win a few of their remaining 5 games.
Otto Porter Jr. is averaging 7.7 points with Jonathan Kuminga at 5.8 and Kevon Looney at 5.0. Sure, those players weren’t brought into Golden State in order to be high-volume scoring threats, but they need to step up.
Even Damion Lee has played in 3 of the 4 games and is averaging over 21 minutes per game yet is at just 4.3 points per game.
If the Warriors are going to keep home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, they’re going to need players like Lee, Porter Jr., Kuminga, and Looney. The Dubs game against the Suns was the perfect example.
Poole went off for 38 points. But, the Warriors still lost by 4 as others did not fill the void left by Curry. Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala, Porter Jr., and Looney combined for 15 points in 78 minutes. That’s a problem.
The Warriors have the Jazz and Pelicans remaining on their schedule with a total of 5 games left. They’re going to need a full involvement from their rotation in order to beat either of those playoff-contending opponents.
Replacing Curry is no easy task, but the Warriors have not done a good job since his injury, having lost 7 of their last 8. Golden State needs to pick it up, especially with potentially their first-round matchup hanging on how they play over these last few weeks.
It’s not Poole that needs to show his value but rather many of those coming off the bench and seeing increased minutes due to Curry’s absence. Let’s hope they figure it out in the near future.