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In last night’s 110-100 victory over the Orlando Magic, the third quarter was once again the deciding frame. The Magic’s Aaron Gordon was the most recent victim who was left without answers “They’re a really good third-quarter team. We were down a little bit and there was a lack of energy on my part. It’s unacceptable.”
Lack of energy or not, after seven straight wins, it’s getting harder and harder to identify the Golden State Warriors standout star on any given night. The Warriors, once again, are blistering the landscape of the NBA and doing it with an egalitarian ethos that is as inspiring to fans as it is demoralizing to opponents.
Trying to identify who shone the brightest in the Magic game
But back to my point - who was the standout star last night?
Shaun Livingston is the first potential player here - his season-high 16 points in 20 minutes in place of Curry was timely. But he didn’t just focus on scoring either, chipping in 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal for a nice, complete game. More than complete, as Livingston also mixed in a power dunk:
Quite the from @ShaunLivingston on @NBCSAuthentic! pic.twitter.com/gqjLAChYYi
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 14, 2017
Next up for your consideration, one Kevin Durant and his stat-stuffing line: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. As per Anthony Slater, after last night, Durant is 24 of 24 from the freethrow line in the month of November, a nice safety valve for when the shots aren’t falling.
In addition to all that, Durant’s defense next to defending Defensive Player of the year, Draymond Green has been superb:
Lol, they’re clamping up on defense while being the most unstoppable team in NBA history on offense. Unfair. pic.twitter.com/psmnM5YboF
— Matt (@KlNG_MATT) November 14, 2017
Which now brings us to DPOY, Draymond Green - the team’s Swiss Army knife that can provide whatever we need most at any given moment. Last night, what we needed from him was a whole lot of everything: 20 Points, 5 Assists, 4 Rebounds, 2 Steals and a team-high +25 on the night.
You need offense? How does three of five from deep sound? After last night, he is averaging 11 points (including 38% from deep), 7.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists plus just over one steal and one block per game.
Finally, we’ve talked about this before, but Thompson is having a very good season so far. Maybe it’s the China Klay hangover, but whatever the cause, there’s no disputing his performance. After last night’s 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, Thompson’s counting stats are all up above his career averages. He’s hiding in the shadow of the Warriors more flashy stars, but his impact and improvement bear some attention.
Just like everyone else on this team.
And that’s a BIG problem for the rest of the NBA.
Poll
Who’s your Warriors Wonder against the Magic?
This poll is closed
-
42%
Shaun Livingston
-
10%
Kevin Durant
-
14%
Draymond Green
-
2%
Klay Thompson
-
6%
Kevon Looney
-
23%
Third Quarters
-
1%
Other (explain in comments)