Some might say that the Golden State Warriors running all over the Toronto Raptors (113-89) with fantastic games for both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson says something about the East vs West disparity, but it probably has more to do with their opponents being a team that’s falling off the rails and playing some of the most painfully bad basketball in the league at the moment.
How bad? Instead of facing LeBron James who made things so difficult for them on both ends of the floor or the Chicago Bulls that often make Stephen Curry look very bad, the Warriors saw the Raptors carrying on with their awful shooting, hitting just 1-of-19 from the field in the first quarter and setting the tone for the rest of the game, letting the Warriors open a 41 point lead before coming back in garbage time.
Thompson scored 25 points with five 3-pointers and Curry wasn’t too far behind with 22 points, adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists. When Curry feels good, the rest of the team looks a lot more comfortable on offense, and especially Draymond Green, scoring 17 points as he, Harrison Barnes and Thompson all finished with +/- of +43 or better. It’s nice to play a team that has a lot on its mind besides defense, but we’ve seen that the Warriors can struggle against the more fiercely aggressive teams in the league when it comes to defense.
The Raptors might still be second in the East after losing four in a row, but it’s really getting quite ridiculous to see them look so awful so quickly in a game that usually brings out the best – playing against the team with the number one record in the league, A jump shooting team is always going to be prone to streaks, and with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combining to shoot just 5-of-23 from the field, they’re not going to do much damage as the team shot just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc.
The Warriors look great in the right situation, but the last few weeks have shown us that they shouldn’t be taken for granted as the best in the league or even the West. Yes, Curry and Thompson aren’t alone and get plenty of help from the team’s defense (22 fast break points, their bread & butter), but this team clicks when they get hot. The others can’t get easy looks and points when their two stars aren’t in something of a zone. Even the excellent defense can’t always take care of that.
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