Stephen Curry is in a starting lineup for the first time since October 30 as he’ll help the 14-48 Golden State Warriors defend Warriors Ground against a familiar foe in the Toronto Raptors inside the brand new Chase Center, live on TNT at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Of course, this marks the first time in franchise history that these two franchises won’t face off in the legendary Oracle Arena, and this marks the first time this season that the two former NBA Finals participants square off since Toronto got the last laugh this past June in their 4-2 series win and first achieved title in franchise history.
And it’s just the funniest coincidence that the Warriors’ two-time MVP and three-time champion point guard comes back against the team that kickstarted this snowball effect for last decade’s most dynastic organization. Since Kawhi Leonard won his second Finals MVP against a Warriors team decimated with a flurry of injuries to Kevin Durant (ruptured Achilles) and Klay Thompson (torn ACL), things went from really good, to #TankForWhoever in the span of five months, specifically after Phoenix’s Aron Baynes incidentally landed on Curry’s left hand back on October 30, 2019.
Keep in mind, Curry isn’t all that acclimated to the new arena himself, only playing four games in the Chase Center this season. He’s going to be tasked heavily with the challenge of playing against a fiery Raptors squad that is coming off of a 33-point night from last year’s Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam against Phoenix in a win that got them back into the win column. They are looking to make it two-straight on the road, and keep their cushion against the climbing Celtics who are only a game and 1/2 away from having the second seed in the East.
Without Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, Chris Boucher’s minutes — and development into a solid contributor off the bench –have become increasingly important. Against Charlotte and Denver, he struggled. But after the bench was called out by Head Coach Nick Nurse for a lack of impact, Boucher responded with the best game of his career against the Suns, scoring 19 points off 5-of-12 shooting in the victory.
That type of response and energy during an emotional night, and he and the Raps taking the floor tonight will have to game plan to stop Andrew Wiggins, who has found a second home in San Francisco. The most intriguing story for the Warriors aside from Curry’s return will be his fit with Wiggins, who’s played something of a de facto point guard when Draymond Green sits.
How the Raptors lock up defensively against the team they defeated in the NBA Finals back in June will be the tale of the night, and during Steph’s 24-28 minutes tonight, it’ll be interesting to see if we’ll get vintage Steph out of the gate in the most suddenly most-anticipated game of the season.
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