Your weekly check-in on the Dubs.
We’re three weeks into the 2021-22 NBA season, and a single-possession, overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies is the only stain on the Golden State Warriors record.
It’s been a pretty great year. That certainly includes last week, and hopefully will include this coming week.
Let’s dive into the week that was, and the week that will be.
Where the Dubs stand
Record: 8-1
Standing: 1st in the Western Conference
Offensive rating: 7th (111.5)
Defensive rating: 1st (99.2)
Net rating: 1st (+12.3)
Team ratings are garbage-time adjusted, courtesy of Cleaning The Glass.
Weekly recap
Wednesday: Beat the Charlotte Hornets 114-92
Friday: Beat the New Orleans Pelicans 126-85
Sunday: Beat the Houston Rockets 120-107
It figured to be a good week for the Warriors, given that they were facing the lowly Pelicans (sans Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson) and Rockets, at home. And then they started the week on a high note, crushing a quality team in the Hornets to get things kickstarted.
From there they coasted to a perfect week (their second in three weeks this year), winning a trio of games by a combined 76 points.
Hard to argue with any of that.
Performance of the week
Jordan Poole vs. the Pelicans: 26 points, 1 assist, 10-for-15 shooting, 6-for-9 threes.
It was a little bit of a one-dimensional performance for Poole, as far as the stat sheet is concerned, as he dished out only one assist and failed to grab a rebound or a stock.
To that I say, who cares? And then I mention his improved defense.
Poole scored the ball with an efficiency and emphasis that is allowing the Warriors offense to thrive without Klay Thompson, and that has fans drooling (and opposing fans shrieking in terror) for what things will look like when Thompson returns.
26 points on 15 shooting possessions is absolutely elite, and watching Poole blossom into a brilliant scorer has been a joy.
Honorable mention goes to …
Gary Payton II vs the Pelicans: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 7-for-10 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 2-for-2 free throws.
Speaking of blossoming, GP2 was out of the league midway through last season, hanging around on 10-day contracts late last season, a fringe roster player over the summer, a camp cut a few weeks ago, and now an integral part of the rotation for one of the league’s best teams.
And a fan favorite, at that.
Highlight of the week
While we’re on the topic of the younger Glove …
GPII PUT OUBRE ON A POSTER pic.twitter.com/DSNsr3Smni
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 4, 2021
There was something so poetic about that posterization being on Kelly Oubre Jr. I wish no ill on Oubre, who seems like a good dude. But he didn’t work out for a reason, and GP2 is working out swimmingly for a reason, and seeing that contrast show up so emphatically was a delight.
This week’s schedule
Monday: vs. Atlanta Hawks (4-6), 7:00 p.m. PT
Wednesday: vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (3-5), 7:00 p.m. PT
Friday: vs. Chicago Bulls (6-3), 7:00 p.m. PT
Sunday: @ Charlotte Hornets (5-6), 4:00 p.m. PT
It’s the first four-game week of the season!
Easiest game of the week
Wednesday vs. the Wolves.
Don’t let the losing records fool you: Atlanta and Charlotte are quality teams, who are just still trying to figure things out.
Minny is the only team this week that I’m confident in being sub-par. That said, they won’t be easy: Karl-Anthony Towns is still one of the most diverse and dominant scorers in the league, Anthony Edwards is capable of exploding in any given game, and they’re well-coached.
Hardest game of the week
Friday vs. the Bulls.
Chicago has cooled down after their scorching hot start to the season, but they still look like a team that’s going to be trouble. Zach LaVine has graduated to bonafide star, DeMar DeRozan’s game has evolved to being quite well-rounded, and Lonzo Ball and Nikola Vučević are criminally underrated.
They’re a fun team, and a tough out.
Prediction time!
During last week’s review/preview, 74% of you were optimistic that the Dubs would sweep the week. Congrats to all of you!
25% thought it would be a 2-1 week, while trolls made up 1% of the vote by picking 0-3.