SAN FRANCISCO — The reigning NBA champion Warriors ended their pre-season plan Friday night with a 119-112 loss to the Denver Nuggets in front of a sold-out crowd at the Chase Center.
On a night when the NBA website was down due to a power outage on the east coast and the game had to continue without official real-time stats, the Warriors alternated their finest moments with ones when they looked like they could use a little more training camp.
The game was fairly close for most of the time before Denver’s experienced reserves withdrew, taking advantage of sloppy play by a roster made up mostly of Golden State youngsters.
Here are three observations from the pre-season finals for both teams:
Klay’s shot shines in preseason debut
Coach Steve Kerr said during his pre-game press conference that he expects Klay Thompson to play “15 to 16” minutes on his preseason debut. He played 16, all in the first half.
It didn’t take long for Thompson to make waves, either, as he splattered a 3-pointer off the right wing on the game’s first possession. He didn’t slow down, scoring 18 points with six shots from distance, according to the unofficial tally of the team’s website.
Getting more of that will take patience, as Kerr has indicated it will take a couple of regular-season games before Thompson can comfortably hit his usual 34-36 minutes per game.
Golden State’s performance and training staff, taking into account injury history, have planned a slow climb for the shooting guard entering his 12th NBA season — though he missed his entire ninth and 10th season to recover from surgery on his left cruciate ligament and to recover the right Achilles tendon.
Kuminga shows more of his promise
Kerr has spent much of preseason praising Jonathan Kuminga’s development and saying he is adapting quickly to his surroundings on the pitch. That much became clear that evening.
Kuminga made two skillful passes – one of which surprised James Wiseman so much that the ball sailed wide as he stretched out his hands. Kuminga also defended with vigor and vigilance and was selective in shot attempts.
And of course he got some powerful dunks. With the departure of Gary Payton II, Kuminga is the team’s sneaky designated dunker and looks like the heir apparent. At the same time, however, JK’s athleticism and physicality give him the versatility to fill both forward spots.
Kuminga also appears to be adjusting to his part-time role as a small ball center, where he can take advantage of matchups. While he struggled with the defense of 7-foot Nikola Jokic, the reigning two-time MVP, Joker couldn’t match JK either.
Where did JK show he’s still a work in progress? He fouled off the bench.
Draymond and Jordan, a picture of serenity
If you were looking for signs of discord between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole, they didn’t give much to worry about.
Draymond returned to the starting lineup after missing two preseason games and three practices after hitting Poole in the face with a right hand on 5 October.
Poole, who had started as a shooting guard for the last four games while Thompson was sidelined, returned to his sixth-man role looking, well, like he normally does. There were a few exciting moments and a few times when he seemed a little upset.
Most importantly, there was no sign of friction. They dabbed at each other before the game as usual and seemed to have no problems during the minutes they were on the pitch together.
That’s the most important thing as the Warriors prepare for their regular season opener against the Lakers at Tuesday night’s Chase.