Deeply disappointed after missing the playoffs last spring, the Warriors ventured into summer vowing to make substantial roster upgrades. At the top of their wish list was six-time All-Star Paul George, then with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers, however, were unwilling to entertain a deal in which George would land with Golden State. They opted to let George enter the free-agent market, putting him out of reach for the salary-cap-strapped Warriors and into the laps of the Philadelphia 76ers, one of the few teams with sufficient cap space to offer a max contract ($212 million, four years).
So, George’s first game this season at Chase Center will be as an opponent. The 76ers (13-18) and Warriors (16-16) meet Thursday night, with tipoff scheduled shortly after 7.
The man the Warriors targeted will spend considerable time facing Andrew Wiggins, one of the players that interested the Clippers when the teams considered proposals last summer.
Wiggins’ season has been one of peaks and valleys. He’s averaging 16.4 points per game, third on the team, shooting 44.6 percent from the field, including 40.7 percent distance. He is one of three Warriors – Stephen Curry and Jonathan Kuminga are the others – to score at least 20 points in nine games.
But Wiggins has reached 20 points only once in the last seven games and has a total of 23 over his last three games on 10-of-32 shooting from the field, including 3 of 14 from deep.
This game should place Wiggins’ pride on full display. He loves the Golden State franchise and knows he almost certainly would have gone to the Clippers in any deal that brought George to the Warriors.
Golden State Warriors
Though George will face a variety of defenders, including Draymond Green and Kuminga, it’s Wiggins who has something to prove. If George, averaging 16.1 points while shooting 41.5 percent from the field, including 32.8 from deep, has the superior game, it puts Philly in position for victory.
Wiggins needs a strong game to pull out of his tailspin, and the same applies to the Warriors, who have lost 13 of their last 17 games and hoping to use the current homestand to right themselves.
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The 76ers also are trying to rise in the standings. They’re trying to climb out of the hole they fell into earlier, losing 12 of their first 14 games while navigating injury-related absences of Joel Embiid and George. George is healthy, but Embiid is listed as questionable with a left foot sprain.
