Warrior Wonder: Strength in Numbers

Without Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia, the Warriors bench demonstrated the true meaning of Strength in Numbers.

The Golden State Warriors returned to Oracle to kick off a home stand but were without Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Zaza Pachulia in the starting lineup.

Steve Kerr was forced to dig into his bench. Luckily, the Warriors are loaded with talent. Jordan Bell, Shaun Livingston, and Omri Casspi got the start in replace of the starters.

Kevin Durant had the best overall game posting a stat line of: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. He has continued to assert himself as the alpha during Curry’s absence.

However, the true Warrior Wonder this game was the depth of the rotation. There were many guys who contributed in different ways.

Andre Iguodala

Iguodala posted a very even stat line with 6 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block. Iguodala threw a beautiful no-look behind the back bounce pass to David West for a two hand jam. It was a sweet play for the veteran duo that got the bench hyped

Bench reaction: 7.5/10 - Bell & Durant were pumped after that finish. Bench reactions are an underrated part of the game.

Jordan Bell

Bell received his third start of the year which may feel like it’s not nearly enough but may we not forget, this guy is 22! Bell posted a stat line of 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and was +14 in the box score.

Whenever Bell is on the court, it always seems as though he is ready to make an incredible defensive play or throw down a nasty dunk. On this play, Bell is far out of the play as CJ Mccollum drives to the basket before tossing it back to Damian Lillard. As soon as Mccollum turns around towards Lillard, Bell hunts down Lillard and times his steps to anticipate a shot.

Bell swats away the Lillard dunk attempt before it gets a chance to hit the cylinder. With the Warriors leading the league in blocked shots, it feels necessary we start calling them the SWAT team. When they need a key defensive stop, bring in the SWAT team.

Disrespectful block index: 8/10 - Not only was the chase down block nasty but Bell had to do it in front of Lillard’s hometown. Come on man, his family was there!

Nick Young

Nick Young was a spark off the bench. He score 12 points in just 13 minutes of action and had a +11 in the box score. Unfortunately he had to leave the game early after suffering an accidental blow to the head from Jordan Bell.

While I don’t have any highlights of Nick Young, I did manage to find this amazing Christmas day commercial for ESPN.

Best Christmas wish for Young to Santa: Though 48 points and triple double would be a fantastic exhibition by Young, a clean block on LeBron James would be the most glorious Christmas present to all Dubs fans. I hope he gets his wish.

David West

West does so much on court that often goes unnoticed. In his 18 minutes of action he posted a stat line of 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 blocks. While the Blazers attempted to make a late comeback, West took these kids to the school with a pump fake and vicious dunk.

Bench reaction: 10/10 - West summoned his inner Michael Jordan on this dunk. All it was missing was his tongue sticking out. The whole bench cleared after the dunk and were in an absolute frenzy. Perfect score for bench reaction.

Now that you have seen last night’s candidates, it’s your turn to vote for last night’s Warrior Wonder!