The Golden State Warriors dropped a tough game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. They lost 124-112, but the fact that they even made it a game at all is encouraging as the team tries to improve upon its middling start to the season.
The Dubs are 11-11 which seems about right given the fact that they have already had some peaks and valleys this season. The low point may have been an embarrassing defeat against the Thunder in Oklahoma City earlier in the year which prompted both head coach Steve Kerr and veterans like Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler to speak very frankly about the team.
Warriors have reason for hope after hard-fought loss vs. Thunder
Even though the game against the Thunder on Tuesday produced the same result, there is more cause for optimism than there was after that first ugly loss.
No one was seriously expecting the Warriors to beat the Thunder on Tuesday given they were without their star Stephen Curry as he deals with a quad issue. But the Warriors played hard and made it a game, even taking the lead in the final period as some unlikely players ended up playing a big role that could translate for the rest of the season.
Seth Curry, in his first game with the Warriors, looked great and definitely seems like he could be a key member of the rotation. Even though he may be the milder of the two Curry brothers considering how red-hot Stephen can get when he's on a roll, he's still an elite shooter and looks like he has the potential to be a consistent contributor offensively.
Curry’s 14 points in 17 minutes on the floor came on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, and one cannot help but get excited about the potential boost he could provide.
Pat Spencer also continued to add to his case for more playing time. The fiery point guard put up 17 points in 21 minutes and continued to play with a ferocity that the Warriors badly need at times.
Unfortunately, the Warriors are going to be without the older Curry brother for the next three games on their road trip to the Midwest. While that is dispiriting, it does give the team a chance to explore the younger Curry’s potential and also see if Spencer can continue his solid play.
The team has a lot of things to figure out and they are going to have to sort out who can, or cannot be relied upon ahead of the trade deadline to see what additions may be necessary.
Curry and Spencer’s strong showing against Oklahoma City which helped the team make the game interesting is a nice development and should give the team some optimism going forward.