Happy Friday, Dub Nation! Fresh off a soulful win in Detroit, the Golden State Warriors are quickly pivoting back into action against the Indiana Pacers. This one is an early game, so be sure to tune in at 4pm – assuming you aren’t planning to intentionally miss this one.
Amidst an already difficult season, tonight is shaping up to be one of the more challenging games. Andrew Wiggins is back in California dealing with a personal matter and will not be available. The regular cadre of long term injuries – most notably to Jonathan Kuminga is further compounded by the questionable availability of both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the tail end of a back-to-back. No updates at time of writing, but keep an eye on the chat thread below for the most current information. Per Steve Kerr, this decision might come all the way down to game time before clarity is provided.
Right now, it looks like Curry, Schroder, and Green are available tonight but Moody is out.
WHO: Golden State Warriors () at Indiana Pacers ()
WHEN: Friday, January 10th, 2025; 4pm PST
WATCH: NBCSBA
Against the Pistons, the Warriors were up by 18 points with just over five and-a-half minutes left in the game. Pulling out a win, even a tight win, is still a meaningful milestone for a Warriors team that had passed into the doldrums after stacking up enough losses to more than offset their strong start to the season. Now, the question is whether or not the Warriors can pull out another strong performance tonight.
There are some encouraging signs.
Kirk Goldsberry runs this neat little graphic every couple of weeks or so that shows the efficiency of both offense and defenses in the NBA over the last 10 games. For the Warriors, a return to mediocre is a small victory.
In order to become better than mediocre, the Warriors are going to need more of what they got from their role players last night. Buddy Hield scored 19 points to help the Warriors end their most recent losing skid – just two games this time; but they were both painful losses, a dropped game against the underpowered Miami Heat, accentuated by the throat punch 30 point loss to the Sacramento Kings.
Trayce Jackson-Davis showed up again – an emerging pattern that is becoming increasingly hard to overlook – with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dennis Schroder and Gui Santos both scored 13 points to offset Curry’s shockingly cold performance (5 of 21 overall, and making only two of his 14 attempts from deep). The Warriors have always been reliant on Curry, and those issues have only compounded in recent years. In order to survive Curry’s aging contributions, the rest of this roster needs to do more – and that is what we saw last night.
Now the team will need to do it again.
Well, nothing new to report here, but as always, the rumor mill is especially fecund at this time of year. Ahead of the February 6th trade deadline, the Warriors find themselves desperately seeking help, but a bit short on the assets needed to truly improve.
What this situation means for the franchise is that there may be an increased appetite for some sort of marginal move. Even if the team can’t fix all their problems, it behooves the front office to make any marginal progress that they can.
Weirdly, it seems like this is somehow pointing towards another big man. Partly due to transaction costs, and partly due to the list of players available, the Warriors haven’t been able to shore up their wing rotation – where they desperately need more offense. I’m not sure how much stock I put in this reporting, but the general sentiments seem to align with the consensus: a stretch five?
The widespread belief around the league is that Golden State will use their expiring contracts and remaining second-round draft assets to add a key frontcourt talent. Jonas Valanciunas, Nikola VucevicChris Boucher, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Nick Richards are five of the most talked-about centers on the trade market, and the Dubs have been linked to both Valanciunas and Vucevic in recent weeks.
Finding a stretch big man who can extend the offense to the perimeter has been a preference the Warriors have held while searching the trade market, leading many to believe that Vucevic is the player at the top of their list.
…Between now and the trade deadline, it would be shocking to many around the league if the Warriors didn’t make a substantial move. At 19-18 overall, Golden State feels a sense of urgency to capitalize on the time Curry has left.
I don’t know. The most entertaining option in the list above is ex-Warrior Chris Boucher (part of the D-league All Star team that bridged some of Golden State’s darkest days).
Oh, it’s another win for sure. I don’t know how, exactly, but another big game from Santos and/or Hield would do a lot to soften the collective anxiety of Dub Nation.
One of my priorities for 2025 is to get back to more live music. After moving to a new area, it has been incredibly challenging for me to make the longer drives into SF or the East Bay. Well, tonight I’ll be checking out one of my favorite punk bands, the Hammer bombs. They’re fun and lively, and thanks to the early game today, you can do both! They’re playing in Oakland. Come find me and I’ll buy you a beer or you can shove me in the mosh pit, your choice.
