The Golden State Warriors' debut in the 2020-21 NBA season was far from what they imagined. Stephen Curry and the rest of the Dubs immediately got punched in the mouth and were blown out by Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and the fierce Brooklyn Nets unit with a 125-99 loss on Tuesday.
The 2018 champs struggled right from tip off and were down by as much as 38 and pretty much played catch-up the entire evening. Although this is just their first game this season, a shortened 72-game season means the Warriors won't have the luxury of taking their time in figuring things out. Based on their opening night performance, here are three things Steve Kerr and his Warriors need to figure out, stat.
Warriors Pace
One thing Kerr clearly needs to figure out is his team's pace moving forward. The Warriors have been known to be one of the fast paced teams in the league for the past few seasons but roster adjustments and of course injuries have made that quite impossible to pull off over the past couple of seasons.
This year, they'll again be without a knock down shooter in Klay Thompson who can easily switch from a slow to a fast at any point of the game. Without a stabilizer like Thompson, it'll be tough for Curry to keep moving the ball and running around as teams will most likely be zeroing on him on defense. The players that surrounded Curry, at least on opening night, don't seem to be fully capable of playing as fast as the Warriors want them to.
Save for maybe Kelly Oubre, Jr. and James Wiseman, Golden State's unit on Tuesday seemed to be a bit lost in terms of pace. The team's pace starts and ends with Curry and the two-time MVP must be able to do a better job in realizing when to put pedal to the metal and when to settle down his troops.
Get James Wiseman more involved
One of the good things that came out of the Warriors' 26-point opening night defeat was the promising play of rookie James Wiseman. This year's second overall pick started his first NBA game on Tuesday and played 24 minutes to tally 19 points, six rebounds and even knocked down a trey. Though most of his production came late in garbage time, there was a lot to be happy about with the 19-year old's NBA debut.
Assuming he stays healthy, Wiseman seems to be locked in as a starter for the Warriors moving forward and heavy minutes and production will be expected from the former University of Memphis standout. If Golden State wants to be successful, they have to figure out how they can fully utilize and maximize their rookie's presence on offense. He put up 13 shots in 24 minutes which isn't bad but if the Dubs want to be more successful, one can assume that Wiseman has to shoot or at least handle the ball more.
Is Andrew Wiggins a starter?
The biggest question mark coming into the season for the Warriors is Andrew Wiggins. The 25 year old was back in the starting unit for the Warriors as he looks to play his first full season in the Bay Area. A lot is expected of the former first overall pick as his ability to put the ball on the floor and create his own shot is badly needed given that Klay Thompson won't be out on the court.
The main two spot in the Warriors starting line-up is clearly up for grabs and it's Wiggins' – if he wants it. Based though on his opening night numbers, he might not be the best option to start at two for head coach Steve Kerr. Wiggins shot a dismal 4-16 from the field and ended with 13 points, two rebounds and a team-high of four turnovers.
Obviously, the starting line-up for the Warriors won't be set in stone given that they're still waiting for Draymond Green to be back. On Tuesday, they went with Wiggins and Eric Paschal, Oubre and Wiseman to go alongside Curry. This is arguably the most talented five the Warriors can start with but based on Tuesday night's performance, I'm just not sure if this is the best five they can put out there to start a game.
If the Warriors end up playing through Wiseman more in the coming games and Oubre shakes off his rusty start, that would mean Wiggins would end up as the fourth option in Golden State's opening unit. Will it be smarter for Kerr to simply put him in the second unit just to give him more touches and shots and pray to the basketball gods that those shots go in?
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