Editor's note: Grant Liffmann (@grantliffmann) is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders, which airs on NBC Sports Bay Area 60 minutes after every game. Each week, Grant will drop his Outsider Observation on the state of the Dubs.
The Warriors' victory over the Trail Blazers on Monday night at Chase Center could have been one of the most fun and electric early-season games the team has played in quite a few years. With expectations set as low as they have been seen since the start of the decade, the Warriors took Portland by surprise with a fast-paced, high-energy, and ultra-competitive performance.
Led by a group of players that many had written off, or simply were not aware of, the team captivated the fans at Chase Center, bringing the crowd to its feet throughout the thrilling game.
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Coming into the season, and especially after the first four shockingly lopsided losses, the storyline surrounding the Warriors was their incredibly thin depth and very inexperienced, injured roster. The narrative around the team was that Steph Curry, Draymond Green and D'Angelo Russell would have to lead a team of misfits, unknowns and rookies to scrap their way into the playoffs.
Once the injuries to those stars, as well as key cog Kevon Looney, started piling up, the team was considered dead in the water. One inspiring win against the Blazers has not changed the fact that the Warriors are severely undermanned and probably destined to sink to the bottom of the standings. But the notion that the roster is void of inspiring talent quickly is being eradicated. In fact, perhaps a fully healthy 2019-20 Warriors team would be a lot more deep and dangerous than most thought.
As training camp concluded, the wing position for the Warriors widely was considered the weakest position group on the team. While Glenn Robinson III was the favorite to stay in the starting role, some argued that by the end of the season, second-round draft pick Eric Paschall eventually could earn a shot at it.
Eventually may come a lot sooner than anyone thought. Paschall has been a revelation, scoring over 23 points per game in the four games in which he has played over 30 minutes. He has dominated each and every defender that has tried to stop him one-on-one, and his growth in his overall game has been tremendous in a short span. It is clear that Paschall is primed to stay in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season, most likely on the wing once Green returns.
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That is not to say GR3 has not been a solid contributor in that spot. He's scoring 10 points per game, collecting nearly six rebounds and shooting from 3-point distance at a 35-percent clip. But that type of production is perfectly suited for a bench role, especially with Paschall's emergence.
Damion Lee has become a highly-efficient scorer and underrated all-around player. In the four games in which he has played 25 or more minutes, Lee is averaging nearly 18 points per game, while shooting 55 percent from the field and 60 percent from deep. Mostly known for his long-range catch and shoot abilities, Lee has started to demonstrate his abilities off the dribble and in the mid-range.
Meanwhile, fellow two-way player Ky Bowman has been equally impressive in his new starting role. In his two starts filling in for Russell, Bowman is averaging nearly 18 points per game on 60 percent shooting, to go with six assists and almost six rebounds. His athleticism has been impressive, as well as his ability to attack the rim in transition. He also has been a pest on the defensive end, picking up his opponent far from the basket and delivering on-ball pressure.
The Warriors centers also have started to come into their own. Willie Cauley-Stein, Omari Spellman and Marquese Chriss combined to score 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting, including going 2-of-3 from deep along with 13 rebounds and seven assists against Portland.
Without Looney and Green, the team has been desperate for solid interior play. If Cauley-Stein, Spellman and Chriss can continue to build on their most recent performance, the Warriors will feel much better about their personnel around the rim.
While this is not reality, a hypothetical healthy Warriors roster this season, even without Klay Thompson, now seems a lot deeper than before.
A starting lineup of Curry, Russell, Paschall, Green and Looney could have been formidable. Couple that with a solid bench unit of Cauley-Stein, Robinson, Burks, Lee, Bowman, Poole, Spellman, Chriss and Jacob Evans and the Warriors have something
Speaking in hypotheticals can only go so far, and to be fair, most of the players currently shining would not have had this much opportunity or spotlight had the team been healthy.
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So when searching for a silver lining for the depletion of the team's stars, it is easy to point to the uniquely quick player development the Warriors are experiencing right now. Would Paschall, Bowman, Lee and others have taken this leap without injuries to the top of the roster? No, probably not. But looking toward the future, perhaps the team is further along in reconstructing the roster than most had previously thought.