Warriors Preseason Standings:
September 30 Warriors 96-87 Wizards
October 2 Warriors 104-95 Wizards
October 10 Warriors 121-124 Lakers
October 12 Warriors 131-98 Blazers
October 15 Warriors 112-119 Nuggets
The Golden State Warriors have a 3-2 record in the preseason of the new season. As the defending champions, the Warriors will still be attacking the O'Brien Cup in the new season, the team has maintained the championship team of last season in the offseason, and the young players and new signings have shown their style on the pre-season stage.
James Wiseman, who missed all of last season's games due to a knee injury, showed a surprising form in the first game of his comeback, coming off the bench for 25 minutes, scoring 20 points and 9 rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting, making him the only player in the Warriors to score in double figures, with a +14 highest all-time plus-minus.
The last time Wiseman put on a Warrior jersey was on April 10, 2021. During the long time of recuperation, he has been honing his basketball skills, and the long experience of watching games on the sidelines has gradually improved his sense of the game. Today's Wiseman has lost the youth and frizz of his rookie season on the court, his blocking quality has been guaranteed, his rebounding smell and card position ability are outstanding, the choice of defensive positions is reasonable, and he can use his skillful basketball footwork to find a good opportunity on the offensive end. Against the Blazers, Wiseman contributed another 18 points and seven rebounds and delivered a visually striking block. In the new season, he is expected to compete with champion center Kevin Rooney for the position of the team's starting center.
Among the Warriors' young players, in addition to Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody's, two second-year players, have also played well in preseason. Kuminga's biggest selling point when he first entered the league was his strong physical fitness, but all the skills were under-polished, and he contributed even less to the team in the playoffs last season than Moody's with a lower pick. After a season of experience and off-season hard training, Kuminga knows better ways to play his strengths and avoid weaknesses on the field, his no-ball running position is positive and agile, and the dunk after the empty cut seems to have the shadow of Iguodala. From this point of view, the older brother obviously did not give the 20-year-old Congolese teenager a guide.
Moody doesn't have Kuminga's physical talent, but he has a solid style of play and a calm track on the court that surpasses his age, and can seamlessly integrate with the team's system, and some of the games in last season's Western Conference Finals were heavily valued by Cole. Compared to Kuminga, Moody's technology has matured, and now he needs to continue to sculpt his projection skills to make himself a more stable 3D player. At this point, Klay Thompson, the league's best 3-D player, is his best role model.
The Warriors lost three important role players, Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Berlica in the offseason, and Kuminga and Moody's could fill the corresponding positions, in addition to the Warriors also signed Dont DiVincenzo and Jamaicao Green in the free market.
Considered the Warriors' most important build-up of the offseason, the Villanova champion guard who was the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference Bucks could have been awarded a bigger contract if it weren't for an ankle injury. Against the Blazers, Deventenzo contributed 7 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 steals in 23 minutes, he can provide the Warriors with a tough defense like Peyton Jr., in addition to being a much better passer and organizer than Peyton Jr., he will play a very important role in the Warriors' system in the new season.
Jamaicao Green is a veteran of the league for many years, and as a panacea, he can provide everything the team needs. Against the Blazers, Green scored a game-high 20 on 4-of-5 three-pointers; Against the Lakers, Green came off the bench and sent a beautiful ground-breaking pass to Curry in the top arc, making people forget the absence of another Green.
Compared to the run-in problems encountered on the court, the biggest challenge the Warriors encountered during the preseason was the clash between Green and Poole on the training ground. The team's management eventually chose the way to calm things down from big things to small things: fine but don't stop Green, and give the injured Poole an ideal contract extension. In the final preseason game against the Nuggets, Poole and Green turned into a fool on the court, which is also the scene that the whole team hopes to see the most.
In addition to renewing Poole, the Warriors also left Andrew Wiggins on a four-year, $109 million contract, which surprised the outside world.
Wiggins, a key contributor to the Warriors' victory last season, is the team's number one outside defensive sharpshooter and number one rebounder in the playoffs, and it is widely believed that his contract extension will be larger than Poole, with a starting salary of at least $30 million. However, in the midst of money, a stable and suitable team environment, and the opportunity to continue to chase honors, Wiggins has made his own choice, and his continued retention is an important guarantee that the Warriors will be in the championship channel in the coming years.
This offseason, the East and West have recruited all kinds of power, and the Warriors will face a more fierce competitive environment in the new season, but after renewing the two major champions and calming the team's internal contradictions, the defending champions are ready to launch another attack on the O'Brien Cup.
(NBA official website)