What can’t we say about this team? They have been elite his year, leading a competitive Western Conference; the Warriors are back! They have been one of the best offensive teams in the league, but the real magic of this roster is defense.
Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins have looked impressive this year, playing some of their best basketball. Wiggins, in particular, has risen to the level he was at when they won their last championship. Even though they’re often the smaller team, how they seal off the paint with their bodies has made them a challenge for even the largest teams.
Curry has been lights out as well. He’s been as clutch as ever with multiple “night-nights” this year as he closes games with massive threes. Even missing a few games didn’t seem to raddle the future Hall of Famer.
The depth they have added with players like Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson has been massive. The internal growth has also been impressive, as Kuminga and Moses Moody both impacted games early this year.
We think the Warriors will bulldoze the Pelicans in tonight's matchup. They have the talent, momentum, and health. If the Pelicans were remotely healthy, this game would be much closer to a toss-up, but as is, this will probably be an easy Warriors win.
Well, Pelicans fans, welcome to the year from hell, where everything that could go wrong did. The injuries have been brutal for a team with such an optimistic outlook this year. Zion, CJ, Ingram, and the addition of Murray should have been must-watch TV, but it ended after game 1. Now CJ is doubtful for tonight, Ingram is questionable, Murray is just beginning to get back on the practice court, and Zion is out indefinitely.
The only positive aspect of this situation is that the Pelicans' roster was incomplete before the injuries. They didn’t have a center beyond rookie Missi. The Brandon Ingram contract is still in the air, and the rotation was already messy. At the very least, this gives the Pelicans time to consider the long-term plan and build around that. We don’t expect a comeback out of this team this year. Even though it’s only November, it might be best to get their ducks in a line for next season.
That being said, this matchup probably will be a blowout. The Pels are toast without three, maybe 4 of their starters playing tonight. Even though the backups have been scrappy lately, the Warriors have been too good. The Pels don’t have the defense to slow down all of the shooters on GS, and there is no way they can keep up offensively. It’s unfortunate, but the Pels season might be done.
Trey Murphy III 18+ Points: Murphy has been one of the few bright spots for this Pelican season. Especially if Ingram is out tonight, Murphy can expect to see a big chunk of shots fall his way. We think from volume alone, he has a good shot at scoring more than 18 points tonight!
Draymond Green 6+ Rebounds: Draymond has been a big part of the GS's success, especially on the defensive end. We could see him hang around more tonight to grab some extra board. Especially with the Pels so limited inside, he’ll have a great chance to collect some early rebounds.
Steph Curry Under 4.5 Made Three Points: We don’t expect the Warriors to care much about this tournament game. We think they’ll pull out a big lead early and have Curry sit partway into the second half. Curry could hit early, but five threes in under 30 minutes might be a tall order even for Curry.