The Golden State Warriors took a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night with a 126-106 win. The Warriors looked dominant in the first two games winning by a combined margin of 18 points as they work toward realizing their NBA title aspirations.
Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from Game 2 of this series.
3. Nikola Jokic Needs Help
The reigning league MVP can only do so much for the Nuggets. Although he has not played his best this series he is getting almost no help from his teammates. Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green gave Denver essentially nothing in game 2, scoring seven and three points respectively. Both of which averaged 10+ points per game throughout the regular season.
The Nuggets have been without Jamal Murray for the entire season as he recovers from a torn ACL, he could play at some point in this series but at this point that is unlikely. Unfortunately for Denver, no one has stepped up as a second scoring option through two games.
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Jokic is known for his passing ability but only had four assists in game 2. The Warriors have done a great job defensively but if someone else does not start making shots for Denver this series could be headed for a sweep.
2. The Splash Triplets are Elite
Everyone knows the Warriors’ splash brothers of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but it has become clear they have added a third brother to their sharpshooting duo with Jordan Poole. Poole has turned into a budding star over the past month while Curry was sidelined with an injury. He continued his dominance into the playoffs.
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Poole scored 29 points in game 2 while shooting 10-16 from the field and 5-10 from three. Curry came off the bench again and was sensational scoring 34 points in only 23 minutes. He was an incredible +32 for the game as well. Then there is Thompson who flew under the radar in game 2 but still added 21 points of his own.
This trio could arguably be the best in the NBA playoffs and the Warriors will go as far as these three can take them.
1. The Dynasty has Returned
Despite not making the playoffs the past two seasons the Warriors returned to the postseason as they have never left. The aforementioned Splash Triplets are great and they still have Draymond Green who is the defensive stopper and facilitator for the team.
This may be the deepest team of all the Warriors championship teams before. Andrew Wiggins plays a big role with his scoring ability and defense. Along with Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and former finals MVP Andre Iguodala are all playing meaningful minutes.
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Already leading 2-0 over Denver has the Warriors set up for a sweep or at worst a five-game series. All the pieces are coming together for this team to make a deep run and the possibility of another championship is well within reach.
