Warriors face big man test with Jokić and Giannis doubleheader
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The big boys are coming to the Bay this week!
The NBA scheduling gods have a twisted sense of humor. Just as the Golden State Warriors are hitting their stride with their revamped Jimmy Butler-infused roster, they're about to face basketball's version of Godzilla and King Kong in back-to-back home games.
First comes Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets, fresh off an embarrassing loss to the lowly Wizards where their perimeter defense got absolutely shredded. Then it's Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks, who despite their road struggles (14-17), remain a formidable beast with a Greek Freak who's averaging a casual 30.4 points per game.
For Golden State, this isn't just a test – it's a major exam for their small-ball philosophy in a league dominated by giants.
What makes this two-game stretch particularly fascinating is how it potentially exposes Golden State's most glaring weakness: the lack of a dominant big. While the Warriors have been thriving with their "Strength in Numbers" approach (now supercharged with Butler's arrival), these matchups represent basketball's version of David vs Goliath.
Jokić is recently coming off a historic 31-point, 22-assist, 21-rebound performance against Phoenix – the NBA's first 30-20-20 game ever. Let that sink in... a center dropped 22 assists. Meanwhile, Giannis continues stuffing stat sheets with triple-doubles and is posting the second-best numbers of any player in the league.
But here's where it gets interesting: The Warriors are 14-1 since acquiring Butler. Their secret weapon isn't height folks, it's connectivity. Butler's arrival has allowed Golden State to employ a "connector" in the half-court who keeps the ball (and players) moving when defenses collapse inside the arc. The result? Golden State has gone from 18th in scoring to 6th, adding eight points per game to their offensive output.
Then there's Jonathan Kuminga's return. After a two-month absence with an ankle injury, Kuminga immediately showed his value with an efficient 18-point performance against Sacramento. Butler's praise was effusive: "He's a hellified athlete. He's a scorer. He wants to be great and he's going to do whatever anybody asks him to do on both sides of the ball."
Kuminga's explosive athleticism gives the Warriors a different dimension – someone who can attack and score at the rim when defenses sell out to stop Curry's three-point barrage. His return couldn't come at a better time against two teams with elite rim protection.
This two-game gauntlet will also serve as a crucial test for Warriors rookie Quinten Post, who'll get his baptism by fire against the league's most dominant bigs. While nobody expects Post to shut down Jokić or Giannis, his ability to pull these behemoths away from the basket with his reliable shooting could prove invaluable.
Post's shooting mechanics are fundamentally sound, and if he can force either star to step away from the paint defensively, it could open driving lanes for Curry, Butler, and Kuminga to attack. The question is whether he can hold his own defensively for even short stretches without being completely overwhelmed.
For the Warriors to succeed against these titans, they'll need to execute their small-ball strategy flawlessly. That means:
- Overwhelming ball movement: Their crisp passing needs to be on full display, forcing Denver and Milwaukee's defenses to constantly rotate and chase
- Exploiting mismatches: When Jokić or Giannis get switched onto Curry, they need to attack relentlessly
- Controlled pace: Push the tempo to wear down the bigs, but avoid sloppy turnovers that lead to transition points
- Strategic double-teams: Send help at unpredictable times, forcing the ball out of the stars' hands and making role players beat them
The Nuggets' shocking loss to Washington exposed their vulnerability to perimeter scoring, as Jordan Poole's buzzer-beater capped a night where the Wizards connected on 42% of their three-point attempts. Meanwhile, the Bucks have struggled mightily on the road this season, with Giannis openly acknowledging they "haven't been as good on the road this year as we've been in the past."
Beyond being a fascinating stylistic clash, these games carry significant playoff implications. The Western Conference standings remain tightly packed, with the Warriors looking to climb as high as possible after their Butler-sparked resurgence. A sweep would be a statement that Golden State isn't just back – they're legitimate title contenders regardless of their size disadvantage.
If the Warriors can split these games, they maintain momentum. If they somehow sweep them? The rest of the league should be terrified of what's brewing in San Francisco.
This much is clear: with a rejuvenated Curry, an energized Butler, a returning Kuminga, and a supporting cast that's clicking like never before, these Warriors are proving that in basketball, sometimes the size of the fight in the dog matters more than the size of the dog in the fight.
Or in this case, the size of the Joker and the Greek Freak in the paint.
