110-98, facing the young Thunder, although the Warriors played a little heartbeat, but in the end there was no danger, and they won 9 consecutive wins.
Because of the disparity in strength, the Warriors clearly did not do their best today, and the Splash Brothers were only forced to "shoot" when the opponents narrowed the point difference to only 5 points in the last two and a half minutes, hitting three consecutive three-pointers to kill the game. For most of the rest of the time, it was young people who took center stage.
Jonathan Cumminga continued his recent hot spot, scoring 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists on the bench today, averaging 17.7 points in the last three games. He gave violent dunks several times during the game, constantly reminding the audience of how outstanding his athletic talent was.
Another rookie, Moses Moody, only got a chance in the last quarter, but the first time he received the ball, he hit a three-point shot, and 6:02 minutes before the end of the game, he drove straight into the basket and completed the two-handed flying dunk, seemingly unwilling to let Kuminga specialize.
Third-year guard Jordan Poole, who also performed remarkably in the role of a point guard today, contributed a quasi-triple-double of 11 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, including 7 assists in the first half, showing another new possibility.
In addition, james Wiseman, the 2020 chart show, also appeared in the warm-up venue before the game, making the Warriors fans look forward to his return with a little more expectation...
In short, this is a victory that does not have much suspense for the Warriors, and compared to the result, the light of hope shown by the young players on the team today is more worthy of deep consideration: in the case of Thompson's return and the Warriors' hope of winning the championship, should the Warriors take these "lottery tickets" in their hands in exchange for immediate combat strength and full impact on the championship?
The attitude of the Warriors' management has taught us that, at least for now, they don't intend to do that.
In fact, the topic of whether the Warriors will exchange future assets for immediate combat strength began long before Wiseman was selected.
In the 2019-20 season, the Warriors were drawn to the top of the league due to special circumstances (Thompson was reimbursed for the season, Curry only played 5 games of pizza with a fractured left hand), so they drew the top pick. But because of Curry's presence, it is clear that the Warriors will seize the time to reorganize the championship lineup, so the outside world began to speculate whether they would use this valuable draft pick to pursue another star player, so as to "win in the moment".
And a year later, when the Warriors' draft picks in the trade with the Timberwolves were cashed in as the potential Kuminga, he naturally became the protagonist of the rumors together with his "senior" Wiseman.
But Warriors management — from boss Joe Rakbu to general manager Bob Myers — has reiterated time and again in public interviews that they don't trade for the sake of trading, nor do they sacrifice the future lightly.
"We need to maintain a balance and make operations that are beneficial to the present without harming the future." We will maintain a positive attitude and pay close attention to the market situation. This is a summary of Miles' thinking on the Warriors' operations in the trading market in an interview last March.
A popular saying in the NBA: a general manager who does not listen to reinforcement opportunities is not a qualified general manager. Obviously, the Warriors won't turn down any deal proposal that would make the team better, but they won't take the initiative to "trade the future for the present."
This seemingly conservative attitude, of course, has its own reasons.
Wiseman's performance in the rookie season as a leaderboard show is undoubtedly disappointing. To take the simplest set of data comparisons: Before his Season injury against the Rockets on April 11, 2021, the Warriors' overall record was only 25 wins and 28 losses, and after his injury, the Warriors played a 14-5 performance in the remaining 19 games of the regular season!
Wiseman averaged 11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks last season, which translates to a 36-minute statistic close to the 20+10 level, but it's clear that he doesn't know how to help his team win.
But all of this is understandable: Wiseman was only 19 years old when he entered the league, played only 3 college basketball games, and because of the impact of the new crown epidemic, he did not go through the normal draft process, did not play in the summer league, and missed training camp. After the season began, he went in and out of the lineup rotation due to injury, and later suffered a serious injury to the meniscus tear, ending his rookie season early.
The growth of a rookie takes time, and it is even more difficult to develop young centers, and with all of the above, Wiseman's struggles at the beginning of his career are completely expected. In contrast, his excellent physical condition once in a decade could not be learned. Wiseman is a typical potential stock, and although there are various flaws, his value belongs to the future!
The same assessment applies to Cuminga. Last year was a recognized draft year, and Cumminga was once considered to have a stable top five pick, so when he accidentally slipped to the seventh pick, the Warriors did not hesitate to take it under the account.
Cummingga was a little luckier than Wiseman, who played in the development league for a year, had experience playing against quasi-NBA players, participated in summer leagues and training camps, and did not have major accidents in his health. So, in the past few weeks, when Green has an injury, he has been given more opportunities to play, and there is no lack of flash performances, which has been able to give people a dim glimpse of a bright future.
And the Warriors' patience has been proven to pay off, and Poole is a prime example. As the first round of the 2019 show, Poole's rookie year was quite bad, but the second half of last season began to show great progress, and this season became a key figure in the Warriors' fiery start, and even once made fans joke and exclaim "Tang Shen is afraid of the position after his comeback!" ”
The Warriors still have four All-Star players because they made a first-and-last substitution when they let Durant leave in 2019, and although their roster is not yet perfect, they have enough talent to compete for the championship. In such a situation, the urgency of seeking another superstar is not so high.
And leaving potential newcomers like Wiseman, Cumminga, and Poole, so that they can take care of the future while retaining the hope of the championship, why not enjoy it?
What's more, the stars have the problem of stars, the Lakers, the Nets stack superstar strategy has been because of the "lineup run-in", "self-awareness" and other reasons have encountered crises, the Warriors have no risk to break the necessity of good chemistry, it is indeed worth considering.
Of course, everything has both sides, and if the Warriors really have a more determined opportunity to reinforce, I believe that the management will not completely ignore it.
A very real problem is that the "Big Three" are no longer young, or even more serious: the window of their championship has been very limited.
The 33-year-old Curry, who has shown obvious fatigue this season, has experienced the longest "struggle period" since the beginning of his career, and his current shooting percentage and three-point shooting rate have fallen to 42.1% and 38.1%, respectively, which are new career lows; Thompson has finally returned after two major injuries, but obviously has not fully recovered to the state before the injury, and it remains to be seen whether he can fully recover in the future; Green suffered a worrying lumbar spine injury after half a season of outstanding performance, and there is still no certain return date... ...。
In such a situation, you naturally worry about how long their competitiveness will remain. In the existing roster environment, it can even be said that the Warriors' best chance to win the championship is now, and every year in the future, the door will be closed a little.
Before the pressure of Extension from Wiseman and Cumminga came, the Warriors' total salary had reached $176 million, and this season the luxury tax alone had to pay 170 million, ranking first in the league. While the Chase Center is lucrative, the Warriors bosses spend so much real money and silver not just to show generosity. Only by winning the championship will all the efforts be rewarded.
Today's game once again proves that although the young people are playing lively, at the critical moment of the game, it is the superstar who can stand up and solve the problem. Of course, the Thunder are not difficult to deal with, Curry and Thompson casually throw two three-pointers to win, but the future to face a higher level of opponents, with the Warriors today's state, but there is a price to pay.
In fact, if Green returns healthy, this year's playoffs, like Wiseman, Cuminga and other "rookies", may be difficult to get the opportunity to play. If, by then, the Warriors find that the Splash Brothers need support and the youngsters are not trustworthy, will they regret today's conservatism?
Perhaps only time will give the final answer.