The Warriors have no more games in 2014 and the team is hoping 2015 will bring back a healthy Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli. The Warriors disposed of the Sixers quite easily, but the Warriors have a rough four game home stand to open the new year and they need their big men to rack up the victories.
Without Bogut and Ezeli the Warriors will need everyone to step up in their absence. Fortunately, Marreese Speights has played well and David Lee is working on getting back to form. According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, Lee will no longer be under a minute restriction:
David Lee said his minutes restriction has been lifted.
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) December 31, 2014
This is great news for the Dubs, Lee is a low post scoring threat and it opens up the offense for the Splash Brothers. Lee is also an outstanding rebounder and they’ve had some trouble on the glass without Bogut manning the paint.
Lee has been averaging about 19 minutes a game since he returned from a hamstring injury and with the Raptors, Thunder and Cavs coming into town, they will need from Lee to win those ball games.
Lee will help down low, but the Dubs still get overpowered against big front lines like those on the Clips, Memphis, and Houston. Seems like Bogut and Ezeli always miss games against these teams, and they take FOREVER to heal. Bogutt has the injury reputation, but Ezeli has been a disappointment because he seems to get hurt by just stepping on the court, whenever that occurs.