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The Golden State Warriors did not look anything like the championship team that they were just a few years ago.
All-Star Steph Curry reportedly had a message for his new teammates Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. during their first game of the season and what exactly to focus on. This was during a 125-99 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in their season opener.
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What Steph Curry Told Oubre Jr. and Wiggins
Per Wes Goldberg on Twitter, on the bench, Curry told Wiggins and Oubre Jr. to not “worry about stats, just keep playing.”
Oubre Jr. didn’t perform that well in his Warriors’ debut scoring only six points and seven rebounds in his 25 minutes of play. Wiggins, however, had a better contribution ending the game with 13 points. Combined, this was not enough to impact the Warriors a whole lot in their loss to the sharp-shooting Kyrie Irving and the Nets.
The Warriors had just acquired Oubre Jr. in a trade with the Phoenix Suns right before the start of the preseason. In his debut with his new team, he shot an underwhelming 3-of-14 from the field. Wiggins had just one more made shot than him as he shot 4-of-16 from the field in his second year with the team. Although the performance of the two was not ideal, Curry tried to help the two remain focused with his quote.
Curry certainly carried the team offensively, managing to score 20 points in his 30 minutes on the court. First-rounder James Wiseman was also able to get some notoriety with his 19 points in the first NBA game of his career.
The team’s starting center and 2017 Defensive Player of the Year, Draymond Green, was out for the Warriors’ season opener due to an injury to his right foot that he sustained during a scrimmage last week.
What troubled the team was Kyrie and Kevin Durant both making a triumphant return to the court after both being out last season. The duo managed to score a combined 48 points leading Brooklyn to defeat the Warriors by nearly 30 points.
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Putting Together the Pieces
Most of the hype surrounding the Warriors this season almost died down when Klay Thompson endured an Achillies injury that has him out for the entirety of this upcoming NBA season. The team is missing a key factor due to the All-Star guard not being able to play. After Tuesday’s performance, the Warriors appear to be struggling to put together the pieces of their almost brand new team.
It’s hard to remain focused when you’re struggling from the field and your team is almost getting blown out. With that being said, it seems like Curry will do all he can to get the team to remain focused and aggressive during the season. Although the season just kicked off, Curry’s supporting cast will need to remain focused in order to help assist the two time NBA MVP.
The Warriors will face off against the tough Milauwakee Bucks on Christmas Day.
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