Zachary Engberg
2 min read • December 24, 2022
Posted in
The age-old question of the Steve Kerr era is front-and-center in this Christmas matchup: Can the Warriors win without Stephen Curry?
The reigning NBA Finals MVP suffered a left shoulder subluxation with labral damage last Wednesday and is expected to miss at least a few weeks. Golden State is 1-3 in the four games since, dropping the Warriors to 1-6 without him this season and 25-69 since the start of the 2019-20 season.
The absence has pushed Jordan Poole into the starting lineup, where he has performed better this season, averaging 25.8 points and 4.1 assists on .448/.323/.918 shooting splits in 14 starts.
Poole had a two-sided series against the Grizzlies in last year’s playoffs. The fourth-year star averaged 26 points, five rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 58.5% shooting in the first three games – before Ja Morant and Taylor Jenkins blamed him for Morant’s knee injury – versus 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 27.3% shooting in the final three games.
Two recently-absent wings have also made a difference: Andrew Wiggins has missed most of this month with a groin strain and Donte Divincenzo has missed the last two games with an illness.
Wiggins was ruled out for Sunday contest and his 10-game sabbatical is the longest stretch of missed time in his eight-year career, beating out his four-game absence for health-and-safety protocols last season.
Overall, Golden State is 2-9 and has allowed 121.9 points per game and averaged 40.2 rebounds without Wiggins this season versus a 13-9 record with 43.6 rebounds and 115.9 opponent points per game.
(The offensive stats are just as glaring, but difficult to substantiate because of Curry’s coinciding absence).
Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and JaMychal Green saw more minutes without Wiggins and Kuminga and each could still see extended run to combat the fast and aggressive Grizzlies’ offense.
For the second year in a row, the Grizzlies have been able to withstand key injuries for the first third of the season but are expected to see burgeoning star guard Desmond Bane on the floor on Christmas for the second time since his big toe sprain on November 11.
Bane scored 24.6 points with 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 46.5% shooting while making 3.8 three per game in the first 12 games and the team has a 124 offensive rating when he in on the floor.
Because of Jaren Jackson Jr.’s offseason foot fracture, the expected starting lineup of Jackson Jr., Bane, Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, and Steven Adams has yet to play a minute together this season, but Memphis is still 20-11 with the fourth-best point differential at plus-4.8
Jackson Jr. has averaged 16.4 points, six rebounds, and 3.2 blocks on 50.3% shooting and 36.9% from three in 14 games and the Grizzlies have a 102 defensive rating when he is on the floor.
John Konchar has filled in admirably for Bane while former top-10 pick Ziaire Williams just made his return on Dec. 9 from arthroscopic knee surgery and has averaged 18 minutes, 4.2 points and 4.2 rebounds on six shots a game.
Memphis is favored to win by 5.5 points (-110) on the road, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, but the Warriors are 12-2 overall and 10-4 ATS at Chase Center.
Written by Zachary Engberg
Andrew Wiggins going through a post-practice workout on Friday. He practiced fully for the first time since he suffered an adductor strain. He's missed the Warriors last nine games and hasn't played since December 3rd against Houston. He's questionable for Saturday v. Memphis
