Tonight, the Golden State Warriors are on the second leg of a back-to-back as they face the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
This game offers a chance for the Warriors to snap a trend of inconsistency after their loss to the Raptors.
Curry and Draymond will both play tonight, and Jimmy Butler is probable as the Warriors search for an opportunity to build on what works and to negate the way-too-familiar patterns that have stunted their winning production.
The Nets have been on a roll
Brooklyn enters this contest on a three-game winning streak, led by the microwave scorer Michael Porter Jr. Porter Jr. is averaging 26.3 points over his last three games, and his unwavering confidence has permeated the rotation, ultimately fueling the Nets.
After a 20-game skid, the Nets have Cam Thomas back as well, who posted an efficient 30-point effort in his first game back. The Nets have played well by spacing the floor and capitalizing on easy looks in transition. For the Warriors, their emphasis on ball security must be elite.
Turnovers were their thorn on Sunday night once again, and breaking that habit will be the breakthrough the Warriors need. The Nets also, like Toronto, aren’t the best rebounding team, but it’s the will of those on the floor that reflects how a team crashes the boards.
If Golden State is lackadaisical in their approach again, they will lose the games within the games regardless.
Who will step up for the Warriors?
Aside from Curry and Butler getting their buckets, one never knows on a game-to-game basis who will step up for Golden State. Tasking Podziemski and Moses Moody to be that third guy for the Warriors is asking them to play beyond their capabilities.
Both are streaky players who can’t self-create consistently, yet they will need to step up to give the Warriors the best chance to alleviate some pressure to carry the load off of Stephen Curry.
If both players can find themselves in double-digit scoring every game, that’s crucial to the Warriors’ success, but even more important, instead of relying on guys to play beyond their strengths, trading for a player to be that volume scorer who can get a guaranteed 15 or more points per night is mandatory.
Curry is having an incredible year but he needs help
The Warriors must find a way to avoid an overreliance on Curry’s ability.
His gravity should be exploited to create movement and open the floor for easy lanes, paired with Butler’s ability to get downhill and attack mismatches, but the other guys must step up or the Warriors will be in dogfights night in and out with every team in the league.
For as great as their defense is, ranked third in the league, the offense is ranked an abysmal 21st because they simply don’t have enough.
