After getting sick in training camp and working back for two weeks, wing Andrew Wiggins returned for the Warriors.
And he instantly played stout defense, often guarding LeBron James and helping the Warriors limit the Lakers to 35.8% shooting overall in a 111-97 blowout win.
In the team’s penultimate preseason game, in Las Vegas against the Lakers, Wiggins started alongside Steph Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Golden State likely would have preferred to test out the supersized unit earlier in the preseason, but better late than never.
After that starting group, the Warriors built a double-digit lead and maintained a healthy cushion for most of the game. As the regular season opener creeps closer, both teams ramped up the minutes, with just about every regular playing at least 20 minutes.
The Warriors showcased their depth, overcoming the absence of two rotation players seamlessly to remain undefeated in the preseason.
Although it was an exhibition game on a neutral court, Tuesday night was the first meeting between Steph Curry and James since they teamed up at the Olympics. Steve Kerr, who coached them on Team USA, described their summer experience as a “bromance” when meeting with reporters pregame.
Curry got the upper hand, registering 16 points, six assists and five rebounds in the Warriors’ win. Moses Moody added a team-high 21 points off the bench, continuing his strong preseason.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ fifth straight preseason victory.
The jumbo starters
In five preseason games, the Warriors have used five distinct starting lineups. Part of that is due to Wiggins’ extended absence, but the team is committed to testing out various combinations regardless.
This one, in particular, was eye-catching. Wiggins was the 6-foot-7 shooting guard, with the 6-foot-8 Kuminga on the wing in addition to two non-shooting big men. On paper, that’s probably not enough shooting to take attention off of Curry. But it’s a whole lot of athleticism and size.
But the unit didn’t pop off the page. Like the previous four starting-fives, the Warriors played about even with the Lakers’ starters, exiting with a two-point deficit after roughly six minutes.
The biggest beneficiary of the combination was Kuminga. Twice, the fourth-year wing took on Anthony Davis at the rim and scored. Even against Davis, an elite defender, Kuminga had no problem getting downhill.
Later in the quarter, Kuminga ran his lane hard and got rewarded by Curry for an easy transition dunk. He also drove baseline and dropped off an assist to Jackson-Davis for a dunk.
“The key is JK and Wiggs running the floor,” Kerr told reporters postgame. “It puts a lot of pressure on teams. So they set a good tone tonight, the way they got downhill. With or without the ball, they were going. I really liked the way both those guys played and the impact that they made with their athleticism and force.”
In his first seven minutes, Kuminga registered eight points, three rebounds and two assists. He finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three dimes in perhaps his most well-rounded preseason performance yet. Early in the second half, he even stood up James in the post on defense.
Wiggins, meanwhile, struggled offensively in his preseason debut, but the touch around the basket and on jumpers should come around.
“He’s starting a good 10 days behind everybody else, and that’s tough,” Steve Kerr told reporters pregame. “But the conditioning that he came into camp with before he got sick will allow him to come back quickly.”
It wouldn’t be shocking if the Warriors tried out their small lineup in their preseason finale, replacing Jackson-Davis with either Melton or Podziemski.
Speaking of the guards…
The Warriors were missing their second and third best guards, as Melton and Podziemski were unavailable.
Melton, who had issues with his back all last season, had his mid-back tighten up Tuesday morning, so the team sat him out of caution. Podziemski, who broke his nose in Sunday’s preseason contest, hasn’t gotten his fitted facemask quite yet.
Their absences left the second unit bereft of an organizer. It showed in some clunky half-court possessions, but the bench units — with Kyle Anderson, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody and Kevon Looney — pushed the ball in transition to make up for it.
Anderson played point forward, a natural position for him. And Moody continued to knock down shots, hitting a pair of tough 3-pointers (plus a wide-open one) to give the Warriors a second-quarter lead.
Moody found success offensively at all three levels, and even distributing at times. He ended the third quarter with a buzzer-beating midrange, working the two-man game with Looney as the clock wound down. The Warriors won Moody’s minutes by 18.
“He’s gotten so much better in so many ways,” Kerr told reporters postgame when asked about Moody. “We’ve always loved his character, his work ethic. But I think this is the most confidence he’s played with. He’s going to play a big role for us. But so are a lot of other guys. We’re sitting in that coaches room every day saying, ‘How do we play all these guys?’ Because they all deserve to play. I’ve asked all of them to play their hardest, make it difficult for us. And they’re all doing that.”
And even without Melton and Podziemski, two of the team’s most prolific outside shooters, the Warriors had no issues creating looks from deep; they hoisted 45 in all.
How much can the Lakers unleash Davis?
The Warriors did a fairly good job last year defending Anthony Davis, though his splits against Golden State were deflated by a game in which he left early.
They looked like they had no answer for the Lakers center in Vegas.
Davis hit seemingly every difficult shot in the post, over every defender the Warriors threw at him. And when Green tried to creep over to double team him, Davis found Jaxson Hayes for an alley-oop.
The nine-time All-Star posted 24 points and 12 rebounds on 10-for-14 shooting in just 26 minutes.
The biggest question for the Lakers this year will be how much new head coach JJ Redick can unlock Davis — particularly on offense. He has all the talent in the world, and has reached peaks as high as just about anyone in the league, but it’s time for him to take over as Los Angeles’ nightly engine with James entering his 22nd season.
The Lakers won 47 games last season with a good bill of health from Davis and James. All they did in the offseason, essentially, was get a year older.
So the key becomes Davis. He looked fantastic against the Warriors, so if that’s any indication, the Lakers could very well be in the playoff mix.