Warriors 3 Things: Golden State set a tone for the season in an
impressive win vs. LeBron and the Lakers
Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Jordan Poole and Nemanja
Bjelica picked up Steph Curry as the Warriors beat LeBron James and
Russell Westbrook's Lakers with a highlight-filled second-half run
>LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 19: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State
Warriors drives against Kent Bazemore #9 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los
Angeles Lakers during the first half of a basketball game at Staples
Center on October 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER:
User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using
this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the
Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
>LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 19: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State
Warriors drives against Kent Bazemore #9 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los
Angeles Lakers during the first half of a basketball game at Staples
Center on October 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER:
User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using
this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the
Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: October 20, 2021 at 5:30 a.m. | UPDATED: October 20, 2021 at
7:30 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/10/20/warriors-3-things-golden-state-set-a-tone-for-the-season-in-an-impressive-win-vs-lebron-and-the-lakers/

Now that’s the way you start a season.

Down as many as 10 points in the second half to the Lakers, the Warriors
stormed back to lead by as many as 12 in the final minutes, en route to
a 121-114 win over their rival in Game 1 of the 2021-22 NBA campaign.

After weeks of speculation that this season could be a throwback one for
the Warriors, with depth and ball movement at the core of success, a la
2014-15, Golden State showed exactly that in their impressive
second-half performance. Things simply clicked for the Dubs, and the
top-heavy Lakers couldn’t handle what was being thrown at them.

Tuesday’s win was just one of what the Warriors hope are many this
season, but it was also a tone-setter.

And here are the three biggest factors behind it:

- Bjelica and the Bench Mob

>Golden State Warriors forward Nemanja Bjelica, right, is defended by
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James during the first half of a
preseason NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021.
(AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The Warriors’ bench was marvelous on Tuesday, with Damion Lee, Juan
Toscano-Anderson, and even Otto Porter (to a degree) contributing
winning efforts.

But no two players were better off the bench than Nemanja Bjelica and
Andre Iguodala — two players considered by the rest of the league to be
washed up heading into the season.

Now, it’s Game 1 — if ever there were a day for a veteran’s legs to look
fresh, Tuesday was it.

But Bjelica and Iguodala looked more than fresh — they looked like
game-changers.

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Iguodala scored 12 points vs. the Lakers with two made 3-pointers, two
shots that the Warriors had to consider manna from heaven. Iguodala also
was a key defensive cog and a steady hand on the offensive end.

In years past, he’s been referred to as the Warriors’ babysitter by
coach Steve Kerr. Given that this is his age-37 season — his 17th in the
league — and the Warriors are trying to bring along a few young players,
that praise took on a different connotation. But the old definition
still applies: Steph Curry and Draymond Green, the Warriors’ two primary
ball handlers, are incapable of protecting the ball on occasion.
Sometimes, it gets a bit out of hand.

Iguodala’s job back in the day, and to this day, is to take the ball and
calm things down — get the Warriors into their sets without incident or
a threat of a transition bucket the other way.

This played out in the second half Tuesday. The Warriors played horribly
in the first half — Green and Curry were sloppy with the ball — but
ultimately, they were on the level with the Lakers as a half-court team,
if not a bit superior. The Warriors trailed because they were being
burned in transition as a byproduct of those turnovers.

The turnovers stopped — in part because of Iguodala, who had no
turnovers in the game — and the Warriors’ deficit disappeared.

Funny how that works.

Of course, given Green’s not-so-awesome game and Curry’s rare off-night
shooting, someone had to step up in their absence.

Iguodala did more than his part and Jordan Poole chipped in, come the
third quarter, but Bjelica was the star of the show for Golden State
Tuesday.

“I didn’t know he could make plays like that,” Green said of the Serbian
big last week.

The Lakers didn’t heed Green’s message. They should know he’s almost
never wrong.

In a league where the penetrate-and-kick is everything, the Warriors now
have a handful of players — Curry, Green, Poole, Iguodala, and Bjelica
who can fill the role.

It doesn’t hurt that Bjelica also has a sweet stroke from beyond the arc
and wasn’t half bad on defense, Tuesday, either, despite going up
against a bigger, stronger team that could have been a matchup
nightmare. He finished with a team-high 11 rebounds.

But let’s focus on the spectacular and game-changing: This guy might
look like former Warrior David Lee from a distance, but he’s anything
but that. Bjelica was absolutely marvelous with the ball in his hands
Tuesday. While the Warriors won’t need him to play the role of Magic
Johnson often, the fact that he can — and that ability can show up at
any time — is a true blessing upon their season.

The play that iced the game told us everything about this team.

It started with an Andrew Wiggins save on the baseline — a hustle play
that made up for an overall forgettable contest from the wing — with the
ball getting back to Curry on the perimeter.

Bjelica set a screen, and the Lakers trapped Curry, as one does.

Ball swings the opposite way of Bjelica to Green at the top of the key,
but the Serbian is now wide open on the left wing. He cuts to the basket
and Green hits him with a quick pass.

Instead of simply going up and over LeBron James in the paint or dishing
to a now in-cutting Damion Lee from the left corner, Bjelica fakes a
pass left to pull Anthony Davis in from the right wing. He then zipped a
pass right past his hand to that now-vacated right wing, where Wiggins
hit an above-the-break 3-pointer to give Golden State a 115-103 lead
with 2:35 to play.

Yeah, David Lee wasn’t making a play like that.

Few players on the Warriors in recent years had the skillset to do so.

This is no death lineup, but Bjelica showed that he has to close for
this team. The Warriors are best when they’re playing five-out and the
big man’s off- and on-ball ability, plus his shooting, make him a
perfect fit.

And that’s the operative word: fit.

Bjelica looks like he’s been part of the Warriors for the last decade.
As seamlessly as Iguodala returned to the fold, the Serbian entered it.

The Warriors looked like a team that only needed a couple of quarters to
ramp up to full speed.

After spending nearly a season finding their identity, I’m fascinated to
see where this team goes knowing what they are from Game 1.

- The Kid Might Be Alright

>(Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

He wasn’t the leading scorer in the game for the Warriors in the box
score, but for all intents and purposes, Jordan Poole was.

We can be real here: it was a tough start for the Warriors’ supposed
breakout star. He was forcing mediocre shots and receiving terrible
results — back-rim clanks and misses that didn’t even come close to
going through the rim.

It was only one half, but given all the promise Poole showed in the
preseason, it was easy to start thinking that reality was going to bite
when the games actually mattered.

And then the 2-guard simply took over the game in the second half.

Poole might not prove to be the borderline All-Star that was hinted at
in the exhibition schedule, but I have a feeling that we’ll be talking
often this year about his number of 20-plus-point performances, as they
will be a barometer of success.

In Poole’s turnaround, something else stood out:

The non-Steph minutes Tuesday didn’t feel like an interminable slog.

In fact, they were arguably the winning points of the game. The Warriors
won in spite of Curry Tuesday. Against a team that has (ridiculous,
nevertheless real) championship aspirations.

This team has come far.

Whatever Poole can do to keep those non-Curry minutes entertaining will
be well received.

Allen wrote:
> Warriors 3 Things: Golden State set a tone for the season in an
> impressive win vs. LeBron and the Lakers
> Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Jordan Poole and Nemanja
> Bjelica picked up Steph Curry as the Warriors beat LeBron James and
> Russell Westbrook's Lakers with a highlight-filled second-half run
>
> By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
> Group
> PUBLISHED: October 20, 2021 at 5:30 a.m. | UPDATED: October 20, 2021 at
> 7:30 a.m.
> https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/10/20/warriors-3-things-golden-state-set-a-tone-for-the-season-in-an-impressive-win-vs-lebron-and-the-lakers/
> >
>
> Now that’s the way you start a season.
>
> Down as many as 10 points in the second half to the Lakers, the Warriors
> stormed back to lead by as many as 12 in the final minutes, en route to
> a 121-114 win over their rival in Game 1 of the 2021-22 NBA campaign.
>
>
> After weeks of speculation that this season could be a throwback one for
> the Warriors, with depth and ball movement at the core of success, a la
> 2014-15, Golden State showed exactly that in their impressive
> second-half performance. Things simply clicked for the Dubs, and the
> top-heavy Lakers couldn’t handle what was being thrown at them.
>
> Tuesday’s win was just one of what the Warriors hope are many this
> season, but it was also a tone-setter.
>
>
> And here are the three biggest factors behind it:
>
> - Bjelica and the Bench Mob
>

> The Warriors’ bench was marvelous on Tuesday, with Damion Lee, Juan
> Toscano-Anderson, and even Otto Porter (to a degree) contributing
> winning efforts.
>
> But no two players were better off the bench than Nemanja Bjelica and
> Andre Iguodala — two players considered by the rest of the league to be
> washed up heading into the season.

Those two have been a revelation. I had never heard of Bjelica, and
people were saying that Iguodala was close to washed up. He certainly isn't.

--Robin