The Warriors boarded the team plane in the wee hours Wednesday, leaving Detroit in time to beat an advancing snowstorm, flying home with the good cheer of a full roster of Santas sleigh-bound for the North Pole after another merry Christmas.
Mission Accomplished, see you in 2021.
That mission was to return to the Bay Area semi-healthy, with a record no worse than 2-2. They lost Marquese Chriss for an indefinite period but wins in Chicago and Detroit salvaged a road trip that had a brutal start in Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
What to make of this 2-2 start? Are the Warriors onto something, or did they merely take advantage of two puppies in a league with big dogs all over the landscape? We took to Twitter for a look at a few opinions we’ll call Warriors Overreactions:
Overreaction? Yes.
This is not irrational, but it’s premature. Juan Toscano-Anderson is a developmental project capable of earning a spot in the rotation through defensive energy and offensive IQ. Wiggins and Oubre were bound to look better against bad teams in the introductory phase of Steve Kerr’s system than they did in the advanced phase against contenders. A good run requires Wiggins shedding his spotty past and Oubre remaining a defensive “dawg” while occasionally drilling a 3-pointer.
The MVP race is a tough climb for Curry, even if he is great. That award generally goes to a member of an elite team. He’d need to lead a serious overachievement to be considered.
About that homestand, it’s a monster. A 4-3 record would be sublime.
Overreaction? Nope.
You made four basic points, none of which I could argue.
The Warriors looked awful against teams built to fight for a championship, and they looked better against two teams that could be eliminated from the playoffs before May.
The current roster should fall somewhere between a No. 5 seed and a No. 9 seed. Big difference there, as anything beyond a No. 6 seed means the play-in tournament.
If this team is healthy, though, it should embrace a play-in tournament. The Warriors have three players with considerable postseason experience.
Overreaction? Nope.
This succinct response is directed less to the significance of beating the Bulls and the Pistons than to Kerr saying he feels there is no immediate need for a center to replace the void left by losing Chriss.
Golden State Warriors
RELATED: Wiseman show shades of Giannis in win over Pistons
I think the Warriors will need to add another big body. They’re small by NBA standards, and it showed -- mostly in massive rebounding deficits -- in their first three games and in the first half against the Pistons. The Warriors in the second half outrebounded a fatigued Detroit team that lost Blake Griffin in the first half.
The plan is to go with a center rotation led by starter James Wiseman, with Kevon Looney getting most of the backup minutes. Draymond Green and Eric Paschall will fill in as needed.
Kerr did not dismiss the possibility of adding someone at a later point. I’d be surprised if they don’t realize there is a need.
Overreaction? Does it snow in Detroit?