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It’s crazy to think about how drastically a season can change in a matter of four games. One moment, you’re talking up a bunch of doubting friends on how the Warriors are still playoff bound — destined to be one of the most feared lower seeds in league history — and the next, you’re waking up to a phone full of messages and videos of a freak Stephen Curry injury — a nightmare you’re still trying to pinch yourself out of a full twelve hours later.
However an arm full of Indian burns hasn’t yet appeared to open a backdoor out of this Matrix, and so the remains of this young and inexperienced Warrior’s roster will have their work cut out for them in a Friday night tilt against the forever undying San Antonio Spurs.
Game Details
WHO: Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs
WHEN: Friday, November 1, 2019; 7:30pm
WHERE: Chase Center — San Francisco, CA
WATCH: NSBA
Blog Buddy: Pounding the Rock
Where do we go from here?
When Golden State takes the floor Friday night, more than likely they will have four players on the court who weren’t in a Warriors jersey — let alone the league — just a year ago. For some, this might be enough to warrant avoiding the game altogether. But if you’re looking for an upside in all of this, a silver-lining might be found in how the team responds to Steph being out.
After he left the game, the Warriors did manage to outscore the Phoenix Suns by seventeen points in the fourth quarter — albeit all coming in garbage time. However the hope is that with Steph off the floor, and therefore less pressure on the rest of the team to play through him, some of these young guys might have an easier time finding and growing their game.
It probably won’t be pretty, and Gregg Popovich might be the worst coach to go against in a trial-by-fire type of situation, but one way or another we’re going to quickly learn who’ll deserve a place in the rotation once our stars are healthy and the team is back to full force.
It’s almost poetic that this first game is against the Spurs, considering they’ve been the perennial example of how to stay competitive through roster turnover and injuries alike. Perhaps there are some lessons there to draw from and it’ll be interesting to see how the players, coaching staff and management navigate the team out of the steepest challenge they’ve faced in years.
Prediction
Draymond Green shuts down LaMarcus Aldridge, D’Angelo Russell has his best game as a Warrior, Eric Paschall continues to impress us all, and Jordan Poole has a breakout game, pouring out some splash for the injured homies with six treys. Warriors win by two and Steve Kerr can rest easy, knowing that Twitter isn’t coming for his head for at least one night.