Surprisingly, even with Curry out of the equation, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins were able keep the Warriors afloat for most of the game. If Curry made some of his wide open threes and layups, the Warriors could’ve walked away with a win. Turnovers were a HUGE issue that night. 23 turnovers is horrible for such an elite team. I credit the Suns defense for forcing majority of them. The Warriors offense must have been in a funk because the very next game was a blowout in their favor.

 

The Warriors were great offensively without Curry in the first game, keeping the game close for the most part. Without the 23 turnovers, it would’ve been a much closer game. In the second game, though Steph came back strong, hitting 6 threes. I have an article on Stephen Curry’s otherworldly offensive value here.

 

I didn’t see many flaws in the Suns’ game plan. The Suns are very deep. They have reliable defenders, wings, guards, and capable frontcourt depth in Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, and Javale McGee. And a good majority of the players are switchable which was key to containing Curry in the first game. If you want to see a more detailed explanation of this scheme, check out Thinking Basketball’s video on it below the article. You can find a good article here, too.

 

 

In the second game though, I felt like the Suns just couldn’t play the same level of defense for three games in a row. The Christmas Day matchup will be the best indicator of what these teams can do, especially since Klay Thompson might return by then. An article will be out about Klay’s return.

 

Personally, I can’t wait to see both teams play each other when they are fully healthy. Let me know in the comments who you think would win in a best of seven series and what I should write about next. Until next time…