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sport / alt.sports.basketball.nba.gs-warriors / Kurtenbach: The Warriors’ new small-ball lineup could break the NBA. Andrew Wiggins holds it together

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o Kurtenbach: The Warriors’ new small-ball lineupAllen

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Kurtenbach: The Warriors’ new small-ball lineup could break the NBA. Andrew Wiggins holds it together

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From: ala...@yahoo.com (Allen)
Newsgroups: alt.sports.basketball.nba.gs-warriors
Subject: Kurtenbach:_The_Warriors’_new_small-ball_lineup
_could_break_the_NBA._Andrew_Wiggins_holds_it_together
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2022 18:11:42 -0700
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 by: Allen - Wed, 20 Apr 2022 01:11 UTC

Kurtenbach: The Warriors’ new small-ball lineup could break the NBA.
Andrew Wiggins holds it together
Golden State Warriors guards Steph Curry and Jordan Poole deserve
headlines for great play in NBA playoffs, but Andrew Wiggins deserves
praise for outstanding two-way play
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond
Green (23) and Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins (22) defend against
Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić (15) in the first quarter of Game 2 of the
team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff series at the Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 18, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay
Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond
Green (23) and Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins (22) defend against
Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić (15) in the first quarter of Game 2 of the
team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff series at the Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 18, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay
Area News Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: April 19, 2022 at 3:30 a.m. | UPDATED: April 19, 2022 at 1:50
p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/19/kurtenbach-the-warriors-new-smallball-lineup-could-break-the-nba-andrew-wiggins-holds-it-together/

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s hard to say right now if the Warriors’ new
supercharged lineup will lead them to another championship this season.

But we can say, with confidence, that it will lead them to four wins
over the Denver Nuggets.

It’s simply a matter of time before Golden State dispatches their
first-round opponent. For a second straight game, the Warriors’
small-ball lineup — The Lineup — of Steph Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay
Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green torpedoed the Nuggets and
brought about a blowout victory.

For a five-man unit that didn’t play a single second together before the
postseason, the immediate success and chemistry of this lineup has
Warriors fans’ imaginations rightfully in hyperdrive.

Poole looks like a superstar. Curry, coming off the bench, is even more
lethal in smaller doses. Thompson looks like the second greatest shooter
to ever live, and Green is orchestrating everything on both ends of the
court.

Something special might be brewing here.

And it’s made possible because of the fifth man — the often forgotten
man — in that lineup: Andrew Wiggins.

It’s only been 11 total minutes of action, but The Lineup has posted
numbers that are truly difficult to believe.

Offensively, they’re averaging more than two points per possession —
2.04. That’s absurd.

Defensively, they’re only allowing 0.75 points per possession. Equally
absurd.

At that output, if The Lineup were to play 100 possessions, they would
outscore the Nuggets by 129 points.

Could that five-man unit be successful if it were Otto Porter, Andre
Iguodala, or Gary Payton II playing in place of Wiggins?

Perhaps.

But this incredible, possibly game-breaking lineup truly hums because of
No. 22.

He’s the linchpin.

Yes, the box score numbers look good, but it’s the little things that
Wiggins is doing that have made the difference for the Warriors through
two games this postseason.

Warriors players and coaches have highlighted Wiggins’ rebounding as a
necessity for The Lineup to be successful. If the Warriors are going to
play small, they cannot be beaten on the glass.

Wiggins has answered the challenge. His rebounding has been marvelous in
the first two games. He has 17 total rebounds and countless effective
box-outs.

Offensively, Wiggins is doing more with less. He’s affecting the game
with well-timed cuts and drives, and when he does get the ball, he’s
knocking down shots.

In this and Warriors’ other five-outside-the-arc lineups, Wiggins — an
infrequent passer — is even showing off some nifty dishes as well.

“He’s a really complementary part of that group,” Warriors coach Steve
Kerr said after Game 2. “If you think about that unit with Jordan,
Steph, Klay — they draw so much attention that Andrew is going to get
some hoops, some space to drive. You saw it in Game 1. Not as much
tonight because the guys were making shots and they were letting it fly
before Wiggs even touched the ball.

But I think he understands that it’s a great spot for him… He’s doing
his job and I think he’s really enjoying it, too.”

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>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew
Wiggins (22) fights for a rebound against Denver Nuggets’ Jeff Green
(32) in the first quarter of Game 2 of the team’s NBA basketball
first-round playoff series at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.,
on Monday, April 18, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

“The one weak shooter around me out there is Wiggins, and I think he
shoots 37 percent from 3,” Green said Monday. And while it’s actually 39
percent this season, the point is made. “I’m going to live with Wiggins
shooting that 3… For me, you can’t ask for anything more on the
offensive end, more options. I like it a lot.

>RELATED ARTICLES
Column: Nuggets exposed by Warriors as clown show, too soft and
splintered to contend for NBA title
Warriors’ three-guard lineup proves to be too much for Nuggets
The Warriors’ best defense against Jokic: Draymond Green and a
demoralizing offense
Steph Curry scores 34 points off the bench as Warriors take 2-0
series lead over Nuggets
Warriors halftime report: Curry heats up in second quarter

On the defensive end, what Wiggins is providing is absolutely necessary
for the Warriors’ best lineup to be successful. Green is guarding
reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, but Wiggins is guardian bigger players as
well. In fact, Wiggins is guarding everyone — one through five — in the
Warriors’ switch-everything unit. He’s more than held his own.

The wing’s engagement on the defensive end over the last two games is
admirable. He’s active in a way we saw only in spurts in the regular
season — he’s moving around the court with impressive fluidity, but his
head is constantly moving, scanning for threats. That intensity, paired
with his enviable physical skills both on the perimeter and inside makes
him a lock-down defender — someone opponents don’t even try.

And here’s the really good news: There’s no reason to believe this isn’t
sustainable. Wiggins had a mercurial season, no doubt, but his great
play so far this postseason seems to be a matter of effort and fit. The
latter will remain in place, so as long as the former does, too, Wiggins
and the Dubs are in business.

It’s all reminiscent of a former Warriors’ small-ball linchpin: Harrison
Barnes, whose professional play and ability to defend larger players was
generally unheralded during the Warriors’ 2015 title run, but was
critical to the Dubs claiming their first title in 40 years.

If the Warriors are going to win their first title since 2018, they’ll
need this lineup — The Lineup — to lead the way. And that means they’ll
need Wiggins to keep playing as he has through the first two games.

Wiggins can furnish a new reputation: playoff ace.

This is the best version of Wiggins, right here.

It, in turn, is bringing out the best version of the Warriors.

That’s a combination that could go far this spring.

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