The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (left) and the Washington Wizards Rui Hachimura (right) are presented before their game in Tokyo on Thu Sep 29, 2022 (@Warriors photo)
Warriors Kickoff Pre-Season In Tokyo Beating Wizards 96-87
By Barbara Mason
The NBA preseason got underway a world away last night in Japan. The World Champion Warriors took on the Washington Wizards in a two game series.
Friday night a sellout crowd in Tokyo got to see not only the defending champion Golden State Warriors but they also got to see Japan native Rui Hachimura who is a starter for the Wizards. He understandably got a huge round of applause from the crowd when introduce along with the Wizard starters.
It has been awhile. In fact, the last time a preseason series was played was back in 2019, that game a contest between the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors.
Fans got to enjoy the play of not only the starters but the bench as well. None of the Warriors played more than 20 minutes in this game and going into the third quarter both teams were digging deep into their benches.
The Warrior’s James Wiseman, after missing all of last season, played 24 minutes and had the high score with 20 points, He hit on eight of 11 shots and had nine rebounds on his return. It could not have gone better for Wiseman after so much missed time. The high score for the Wizards was Hachimura with 13 points and nine rebounds. Wiseman and Hachimura were the only players to finish in double digits.
It’s early and it’s the preseason and so there were the expected early turnovers and erratic passes. Both teams shot under 33% in the first half and by game’s end they finished under 37%. Despite the less than stellar shooting, the crowd enjoyed a game that they will remember for a long long time. They got to see some of the world’s greatest players and they showed their appreciation with thunderous applause throughout the game.
Klay Thompson did not play in this game and Jordan Poole started in his place. The team continues to be cautious with Thompson since his return last January after suffering a torn ACL and a ruptured Achilles which sidelined him 2 1/2 season. He will not play in this series.
The second game of this series will be played on Saturday with tipoff at 10:00 PM on NBA TV.
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