Golden State Warriors: Predicting Averages For Their Starting Backcourt

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (USA TODAY Sports)

With the loss of Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, the Golden State Warriors were in desperate need of reinforcements off the bench. They did a great job in signing Toney Douglas, Jermaine O’Neal, and Mareese Speights, and it’s been a pretty productive offseason for the Warriors so far. The main acquisition so far would be Andre Iguodala, of course, as he was one of the best on the market. According to reports, other teams like the Mavericks had much more offered than the Warriors, but he liked the thought of playing with Stephen Curry.

With that being said, the Warriors’ starting five has a lot of depth to it. Unfortunately, Iguodala, at this point in his career, may be more of a scoring threat than Harrison Barnes. He may take away production from other players like David Lee.

Here are our predicted averages for the backcourt next year.

1. Stephen Curry: 24.0 PPG, 7.2 Assists, 4 Rebounds, 1.6 Steals:

Curry is a very skilled point guard, who avoided the injury bug for most of the 2012-2013 season. He will only get better. Widely regarded as the best shooter in the NBA, some have even went as far as to say that he’s the best of all-time.

Of course, he’s got a ways to go, but it’s looking like that could be the case. Not only can he score the ball off the dribble and going to the basket, but he’s also a great passer with court vision. Originally a shooting guard, Curry has proved everyone wrong by showing that court vision can be developed.

As a point guard, Curry will know where to be at the right time for an important rebound. This is why he averaged more than guys taller than him like Klay Thompson. He may not be the quickest guy, but Curry knows how to play the passing lanes, which is good enough for 1.6 steals per contest.

2. Klay Thompson: 17.0 PPG, 3.1 Assists, 5.2 Rebounds, 1.5 Steals, 1 Block

Like Curry, Thompson has nowhere to go but up, and has incredible potential. As he grows into his reputation as a sharpshooter who is also a stellar defender, he will live up to these stats. His scoring will increase because inconsistency will fade. His offensive mentality will become better, as he will be able to find the big men better after coming off the screens.

As for rebounding, he is a 6’7″ shooting guard who has proved to everyone that he will come up big with the boards if he needs to. In Game 2 of the Spurs-Warriors playoff series, Thompson scored 34 points to go with 14 rebounds in a Warrior victory. This shows that he will rebound if he have to. It was also his first career double-double. For the steals and blocks, Thompson knows how to get in the passing lanes. Because he is such a great perimeter defender, he will put himself in the position for some blocks.

In the league, these two have formed a combination that many were beginning to call the “Splash Brothers”. Almost every shot these guys take is golden and right through the bottom of the hoop. Watching the Warriors next season will be a treat, simply because these guys may blow out their record even further.