Warriors’ offense by committee is best hope with Steph, Klay slumping

Warriors’ offense by committee is best hope with Steph, Klay slumping originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors for many years thrived with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson lighting up scoreboards, often combining for 50 or 60 points per game while their teammates filled the offensive gaps.

This choppy 2023-24 NBA season has shown that formula for offensive prosperity is obsolete. Those Warriors ran asunder in the second decade of this century.

The offense of today’s Warriors rises and falls not with the thirtysomething “Splash Brothers” but mostly with the twentysomethings dotting most of the roster.

If those guys are finding or otherwise contributing to buckets, as they did Tuesday night in a crucial 104-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors can compete with any team in the NBA.

“We need everybody to be clicking at the right time,” veteran center Kevon Looney said. “We need Steph and Klay and Draymond (Green) and CP (Chris Paul) to be playing at a high level. But we also need the young guys playing at a high level for us to be really, really good.”

Neither Curry nor Thompson reached their offensive standard, with the two combining for 27 points on 10-of-32 shooting (31.3 percent) from the field, including 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from deep.

Meanwhile, their teammates were shooting 31-of-58 (51.7 percent) overall and 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

Andrew Wiggins, 28, led Golden State scorers with 23 points. Moses Moody, 21, added 12 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Rookies Trayce Jackson-Davis, 24, and Brandin Podziemski, 21, tied for team-high in rebounds with 10.

“This season has been about that transition,” coach Steve Kerr said. “The younger guys playing more and producing more, and the older guys handing over some of the responsibilities. We’ve found a pretty good mix.”

Curry and Thompson are averaging a combined 43.6 points per game this season, their lowest since Kerr took over as head coach in 2014. Their percentages are at or near career lows. Curry, 36, is in his 15th season. Thompson, 34, is in his 10th active…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/warriors-offense-committee-best-hope-072205758.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-04-03 07:22:05

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