Warriors’ 3 Things: Dubs provide reasons for optimism, despite season-opening loss to Suns

Golden State Warriors looked solid in Opening Night loss to Phoenix Suns

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If the Warriors win 81 more games like this, they will be fine.

No, the Warriors didn’t win their season opener on Tuesday night, falling to the Suns 108-104, but the positives of their performance were undeniable.

They shifted the rock. They played tight defense at times. They recovered as a group. They only fumbled the ball 11 times. Young players Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody made significant contributions. They were ten deep.

This is unquestionably a better team than the one from last year.

There were some tough performances as well. Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were both below-par. The team’s execution in the final minutes was deplorable.

But you can’t knock the Warriors’ hustle — they played hard and smart on Tuesday.

Do that every night, and you’ll win far more games than you’ll lose, even if the Warriors did lose Game 1.

“We’re all getting used to each other,” said Chris Paul following the game. “We have a lot of different units that can play… It’s encouraging because you can tell the spirit of a team. “The spirit is correct.”

Here are my three game-related takeaways:

Kerr has faith in Kuminga.

Jonathan Kumgina’s preseason success translated into regular-season success.

More importantly, Kuminga’s preseason success has earned Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s trust in key situations.

While the third-year forward didn’t shine in the final minutes, missing two free throws with 1:32 left in a 100-99 game Phoenix led, he did have a great tap-out rebound to Steph Curry to keep the Warriors in the game inside the final minute, and he was the Warriors’ point-of-attack defender.

Finally, he was the right choice to end this game, which speaks volumes about his growth.

“Whoever is playing the best will finish the game,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

What an idea.

The issue of size

While there were some positives, the Warriors were undone by their lack of size on Tuesday. Not only in the Suns’ late offensive rebounds, but throughout the game.

We knew going into the season that the Warriors would only have one true post player: Kevon Looney. And with Draymond Green out of Tuesday’s game due to an ankle injury, the Dubs were down one big man.

And the Warriors’ lack of size — or, more specifically, length — proved crucial in this game.

Curry found himself in difficult defensive situations early and often on Tuesday because he was not the Warriors’ smallest player on the court.

In fact, he was the Warriors’ third-best defender in the starting lineup.

On defense, Paul is a complete liability. That was to be expected.

Thompson’s breakdown, on the other hand, is difficult to watch.

When all three of them are on the court at the same time, the Dubs have a real problem. You can’t change anything because it would result in obvious mismatches. However, you cannot play straight-up because it is not advantageous for the Dubs to do so.

The Warriors’ lack of size was highlighted on Tuesday when Curry received his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter. It sparked the Suns’ 9-0 run to take the lead. They never gave up the lead completely.

Green will assist with this. Kuminga will also contribute when he is not chasing the ball.

However, the Warriors will play the entire season from a disadvantage, forcing Kerr to call for double-teams and over-helping.

Some teams will struggle to deal with the Dubs.

On Tuesday, the Suns were not one of those teams.

Strange world

All of the social media shaming worked: Warriors fans were uniformly and raucously applauding Kevin Durant before the game.

Yes, Durant, the two-time NBA Finals MVP, deserved a standing ovation from the Golden State crowd in the first game he’s played in front of them since leaving for Brooklyn all those years ago.

But, given that Durant left the Bay on his own accord, I’m not sure 100 percent approval was warranted.

Unfortunately, after weeks of talking about it and the general consensus on social media being “if you don’t root for KD, you’re a bad person,” that’s what he got. We can now move on from that ridiculous story and discuss something far more important:

The Chase Center crowd chanted “C-P-3” on Tuesday.

Everyone has found Paul’s transition to the Warriors far too easy.

And, yes, Paul deserved praise for his performance in the third quarter on Tuesday.

Can we, however, ease into the Paul-on-the-Warriors era a little?

Even the Warriors’ new point guard had to laugh when he heard the chant while he was at the free-throw line.

“Dario looked at me and started laughing, and I couldn’t help but laugh,” Paul went on to say. “That was a first.”