The defending champions the Golden State Warriors have been below par for the majority of this season. Defending their crown will be a difficult task, especially, making it through to the NBA finals. Before the Warriors think of reaching the NBA finals, they have tough games against the best teams in the West. It is fair to say, that the Western Conference has a surprise addition to the playoff spot this season.
However, the talk about the Warriors hoping to secure the 6th seed in the west gives them a fairly better chance against the Sacramento Kings. “There is this talk about them wanting the 6th seed and I get why, rights, you’re avoiding Phoenix in the first round, you’re avoiding Denver whose been the best team in the West all season,” claimed Reddick.
“[The Warriors] are not winning the West without Andrew Wiggins.”
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— First Take (@FirstTake) March 29, 2023
This season the Warriors have failed to find their rhythm since the beginning of the season. However, Reddick believes that the game against the Kings in the first round will be no easy task as well. “That’s going to be a tough matchup for the Warriors. You don’t have home-court advantage, you’ve been the worst road team all season long…..Sacramento is 5th in made threes, 7th in attempts, 8th in 3-point percentage, they are really good 3-point shooting team,” Reddick spoke about the Kings’ offensive numbers this season.
Not to forget De’Aaron Fox has been a complete menace for the teams to handle this season. Fox is the cornerstone for the Kings this season and is not looking to slow down. With his playoffs with the Kings, he is bound to take the game up a notch.
How big of a blow is Andrew Wiggins’ absence for the Golden State Warriors?
They have simply not been able to cope with the roster they have. Stephen Curry has been sidelined for several games, and, without Curry, the Warriors lack the killer instinct. Despite his return from injury, the Warriors have not been able to capitalize a whole lot this season. Nonetheless, the player Warriors have desperately missed out on Andrew Wiggins.
Wiggins played his last game for the Warriors more than a month ago against the Washington Wizards. Since then he has missed 20 games for the defending champions. Reddick believes the Warriors will not be able to go the distance without Wiggins. “I will say this they are not winning the West without Andrew Wiggins. He was too valuable for their team last season in their finals run, particularly in the Western Conference finals and the NBA finals,” Reddick claimed.
Wiggins made a significant contribution to the Warriors, and this time he is absent from the Warriors due to family reasons. It is a huge blow to have one of their best defenders to be not available. However, the Golden State Warriors face an uphill task of defending their title this season.