3 reasons for Golden State Warriors optimism after Game 1 loss

After holding a double-digit lead during the third-quarter, the Golden State Warriors suffered a Game 1 loss to the Sacramento Kings in front of an exuberant home crowd at Golden 1 center on Saturday.

Despite the sting of a disappointing loss down the stretch, head coach Steve Kerr believes the Warriors are “in a pretty good place” for the remainder of the series. There’s reason for that rather than just blind faith in Golden State’s championship experience.

Game 1 provided enough positives to be confident in the Golden State Warriors ability to take control of their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings.

Golden State were in poll position to take a Game 1 victory, but ultimately had no answers for Kings duo De’Aaron Fox (38) and Malik Monk (32). Still, there were reasons to believe the Warriors can bounce back in Game 2 and moving forward. Let’s take a look at the top three –

1. The return of Andrew Wiggins

After missing 25-straight games to conclude the regular season, Wiggins looked like he hardly missed a beat in an impressive first-half display upon his return. The 2021 All-Star had 12 points, three rebounds and three blocks on 5-for-8 shooting in just under 14 minutes off the bench.

The second-half was less imposing with Wiggins scoring just five points on 2-for-8 shooting. That included missing five of his six three-point attempts, the last of which being a wide-open corner attempt that would have given the Warriors a two-point lead with ten seconds remaining. It wasn’t perfect, but the fact Wiggins could step straight in and provide 28 productive minutes is a major positive.

2. Looney locking the Lithuanian

Kevon Looney did a near perfect defensive job on Domantas Sabonis, limiting the All-Star center to just 12 points on 5-for-17 shooting. Perhaps that also provides reason for pessimism — that Sabonis couldn’t possibly be that bad again and yet Sacramento still won. He will be better no doubt, though the combination of Looney and Green proved they do have answers for the skilled big man. Quite shockingly, it was actually Alex Len who provided Golden State with more issues in his brief minutes.

3. Style of Play

The Kings largely beat the Warriors at their own game — fast-paced, high-scoring and led by a pair of potent guards. Fox and Monk got the better of their more highly credentialed opponents in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, though the latter still combined for 51 points. If the games continue to be determined by guard play, Golden State would be confident of getting the better of Sacramento over the course of the series.

The Warriors also shot just 32% from deep on 50 attempts — their 34 missed threes is a playoff record. It’s hard to envisage that continuing moving forward, and Golden State still put up 123 points regardless.