Three Things We Learned from the Warriors Close Loss to the Kings
For yet another night, the Warriors let a game that should’ve been theirs slip away. Last night’s game against the Sacramento Kings didn’t represent either team’s true capabilities, as both squads had significant pieces unavailable due to injury. Golden State played without their “big three” as Stephen Curry dealt with a cold, Jimmy Butler with back soreness, and Draymond Green with a rib contusion. Meanwhile, the Kings missed both Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis, as they nursed back and rib injuries, respectively.
The Warriors jumped out to a quick lead last night, padded it to around double digits, and maintained that margin through the first half. Sacramento came out of the locker room determined, quickly erasing the disadvantage and drawing the game even. After a back-and-forth third quarter, the Kings pulled away for a few minutes and forced the Warriors to reel the deficit back in. This pattern repeated a few times in the fourth, but Golden State never got back ahead again, and ultimately found themselves defeated 121-116 at the final buzzer. Here are three things that stood out following this role-player-filled contest.
Rookie Will Richard has arrived: Though the team didn’t win on paper, Golden State should consider yesterday’s game a huge success for Richard. The former Gator showed up and showed out, leading all scorers with 30 points on an efficient 10-15 from the field. Richard also showed great willingness in crashing the glass and was rewarded for his aggression. It’s not often that you see a guard grab a game-high five offensive boards. The 56th pick from this year’s draft grew in confidence as the game went along and got himself some valuable minutes as one of the team’s main scoring threats.
A pair of 2021 draft picks stepped up when the Warriors looked for inspiration: In this game, Jonathan Kuminga once again took his opportunities offensively. Finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds, his impact was unfortunately limited due to early foul trouble. Nevertheless, it’s an encouraging sign for Golden State fans to see Kuminga perform as expected following a drama-filled summer. His fellow rookie classmate, Moses Moody, provided a spark from beyond the arc that seemingly no other teammate could follow. What impressed me the most was Moody’s defensive effort, as he racked up four blocks and two steals. Coach Kerr’s trust has clearly grown for the former 14th overall draft pick, who also led the Warriors in minutes played last night with 39.
Two duds for Warrior centers: In an evening to put behind them, both Al Horford and Quinten Post struggled to find their footing. Though they had four steals between them, neither big man was a factor on offense. Despite starting, Post played just 16 minutes and missed all five of his shots, not looking comfortable on the floor. Horford, on the other hand, got a healthy 27 minutes but also didn’t score, missing all seven of his shots from three. To say the least, this was a poor performance from two players who are expected to knock down open shots as stretch-bigs. Both will quickly need to turn the page, because if the Warriors want to build some steam, they’ll need scoring from their centers in addition to their interior defense and rebounding.
