5 Takeaways from Warriors win over the Kings

Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) stands in the hallway before the start of the game against the Sacramento Kings at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors managed to come from behind and leave San Jose with a victory over the Sacramento Kings. On Klay Thompson bobblehead night, the Dubs needed to be special down the stretch and they were. The team improved to 2-1 during the preseason.

The Kings gave them everything they had. The Warriors needed to score the last 14 points of the game while holding Sacramento scoreless over the last three minutes in order to win 105-96. The reserves were great with their backs against the wall.

The Warriors have now given fans three different performances. They looked lost in Canada as they fell to the Toronto Raptors. They dominated the Los Angeles Clippers in the highly anticipated matchup of super teams. Now, they struggled and squeaked out a win over the lowly Kings.

Golden State is a better basketball team than the Kings, but they couldn’t quite get the separation they would have liked in this one. But it’s just preseason so the Warriors won’t sweat it too much. But there’s still some things that they can learn from it. They’ll go back and watch film and break different things down.

Here are five takeaways from the Warriors’ victory over the Kings.

Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) prepares to attempt a shot against the Sacramento Kings in the third quarter at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

KD fits just fine

Whether it was out of fear or a genuine concern, one of the narratives that followed the Warriors after Kevin Durant signed was: will he fit? People questioned if Golden State would be able to incorporate the former MVP into their already efficient system. Turns out, they can.

For most of his career, Durant has played in an isolation-heavy system. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder expected him to just make plays on his own. Even worse, there was this sense that he and Russell Westbrook were just taking turns, not really working together to put the ball in the basket.

Golden State clearly plays differently. They have playmakers everywhere that want to get the ball to the open man. Whether that’s Kevin Durant or Ian Clark, the ball is going to find the person that’s in the best position to score.

Durant had 25 points in 26 minutes. He was 8/11 from the field and 4/6 from beyond the arc. He got into his rhythm early and the Kings couldn’t do anything about it. He was all over the place without doing too much. He didn’t take away from anything the other Warriors on the court were doing–it was just in the flow of the game.

So, it turns out, one of the best players in basketball can thrive on a team with a two-time MVP and multiple All-NBA stars. Sorry, NBA.

Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) steals the ball from Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia (27) in the second quarter at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Rim protection is a serious weakness

The Warriors didn’t have a lot of options after they signed Kevin Durant. They had to let a lot of players walk in free agency in order to make room. Then, they Bob Myers had to find a way to round out the roster with cheap players.

It’s a good problem to have because the NBA is driven by stars. And the NBA Finals showed Golden State that, ultimately, it doesn’t matter who has the deeper team–it’s about stars taking over in big moments. Still, it’s a challenging task.

Enter: Zaza Pachulia. The Warriors brought in the former Dallas Maverick to replace Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli at the center spot. Spoiler alert: he’s not those guys.

For the price, Pachulia is worth it. He’s a solid NBA center with good size that was extremely cheap. After losing every center and having no money to replace them, he was definitely the best they could do.

But he’s not a rim protector and, outside of the 6’5(?) Draymond Green, no one else on the team is either. DeMarcus Cousins exposed that. He did whatever he wanted at the rim. We wrote about that possibility here at BMH and some Twitter users (including our own Angelo Mendoza) roasted us. I don’t want to say “I told you so” but…*sips tea*.

The Warriors are going to need to find a way to address this. While Cousins is probably the best big man, they’re going to face a lot of players who are great around the rim, especially in a potential playoff series. The Thunder have a lot of big me and Westbrook who loves to attack the basket. The San Antonio Spurs have LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol together. The Cavaliers have LeBron James.

The Warriors don’t have many weaknesses. DeMarcus Cousins exposed their biggest one. They need to find a way to fix it.

Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) jogs onto the court prior to the game against the Sacramento Kings at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Klay Thompson really isn’t sacrificing

When Durant signed with the Warriors, many wondered how the shots would be distributed. Durant is one of the best scorers in league history and he joined a team with the defending scoring champ. So, naturally, someone would have to take a backseat, right?

Most speculated that Klay Thompson would be the most impacted by Durant’s arrival. Because, unlike Curry, Thompson can’t quite create his own shot as easily, he was expected to be the odd man out. There wouldn’t be enough touches for him.

Thompson made it clear that he wasn’t going to sacrifice anything. His game wasn’t going to change. Shooters shoot and he didn’t plan on budging on what he does best.

Turns out, he wasn’t lying. Thompson has been very aggressive in preseason. Thursday night was no different.

He was 4-8 from the field, but just 1-4 from deep in 24 minutes of action. Only Durant and Ian Clark (late in the game) took more shots than he did and he was tied with Curry. Thompson isn’t going to have a problem finding his shots, especially with how much the Warriors are going to push the fast break.

Expect Thompson to keep firing at will. It’s what the team wants and needs and it’s what he does best. He will not be sacrificing anything.

Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) sits on the floor after making a three point basket against the Sacramento Kings in the second quarter at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Steph Curry is looking to pass

We put up a piece on Kevin Durant getting into a groove wth his new team. The previous takeaway was about Thompson still doing what he does in the offense. This is about the opposite. Steph Curry has yet to have a Steph Curry-type game in the preseason. At least the Steph Curry we all got used to last year.

With Durant on board, he doesn’t need to be spectacular all the time. He doesn’t need to take as many of the jaw-dropping difficult shots he had to last season. He can get back to what he likes to do: pass.

Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history and he is an incredibly willing passer, often times to a fault. He sometimes takes too long to take over offensively. He likes to pass the ball and get everyone else involved, even when he’s hot.

During the preseason, it seems like he’s making a concerted effort to get everyone else involved. He’s making sure Durant fits in seamlessly. And it’s working.

Curry will be able to score whenever he wants to. With that kind of range and ability, he doesn’t need a lot of touches and space to score points in a hurry. He’s not focused on that aspect of his game.

He had 5 assists in his limited action against the Kings. it’s very possible he averages close to double digit dimes this upcoming season. And, in doing so, he’ll make it harder for haters to discredit his greatness as a point guard.

Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee (1) holds onto a rebound against the Sacramento Kings in the third quarter at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Bench players have fight

The Golden State Warriors probably shouldn’t have come away with a victory on Thursday night. They were down late without any of their stars in the game. The stars that take over were on the bench waiting for time to wind down and for the team to drop to 1-2 in the preseason.

But they won, somehow. The Dubs scored the last 14 points of the game. They also tightened up defensively, not allowed the Kings to put the ball in the basket over the last three minutes of the game.

Instead of Curry and Durant and Draymond Green, it was Patrick McCaw, Clark, and James Michael McAdoo. They led Golden State to their improbable comeback victory. They splashed threes, came up with big stops, and grabbed key rebounds down the stretch.

Steve Kerr believes in “Strength in Numbers.” It’s a philosophy that says everyone will get a chance to contribute (and, sometimes, certain players get too many chances). The Warriors will turn to their bench a lot, especially as the starters build leads and they get a lot of rest. They’re going to need their reserves to be productive.

With Leandro Barbosa’s departure, the Warriors are going to look for someone to eat up minutes behind Klay Thompson. Both McCaw and Clark have made their cases to earn consideration for more run during the season. This comeback is going to turn some heads.

Sure, they were also playing against other reserves, but there’s a lot of promise there. The fact that they didn’t just give up has to please Kerr and his staff. They fought the whole time and eventually stole the game away from Sacramento.

Clark finished with 16 points and McCaw had 8. They shot a combined 6/12 from beyond the arc. They played extremely well.

Kerr is clearly still playing with rotations and units. Clark and McCaw leading the comeback like seasoned vets shows that the Warriors might be deeper than people might have originally thought.