How Will the Golden State Warriors Prepare for the Stretch Run?
By Leah Filamor
The Golden State Warriors are coming off an amazing run through the first half of the 2014-2015 NBA season. Over the course of the first half, the Warriors compiled the best record in the NBA. Some of the team’s highlights in that span include Klay Thompson’s astonishing 37 points in a quarter, breaking the NBA record for most points in a quarter. Not only is Golden State’s prolific offense leading the league in points per game (110.2 ppg), they are also leading the league with 27 team assists per game.
The Warriors are showcasing solid team work, and a will to win. Golden State is benefiting from the rise of Draymond Green as a defensive specialist, the quality and depth of the bench from Shaun Livingston, Justin Holiday, and Leandro Barbosa, as well as the leadership of Andre Iguodala and David Lee.
As long as the #FullSquad stays healthy, many believe the second half of the NBA season will be a piece of cake — hopefully.
Since the All-Star break, the Warriors have lost two games in running their record to 45-11. The true test though, will be the hectic schedule featuring a number of back to back games to close out February. Following a tough games against Cleveland, which resulted in a loss on Thursday, and a resounding 113-89 win over Toronto on Friday, Golden State will travel to Boston to play the Celtics on Sunday and then square off with the Nets in Brooklyn on Monday. After that rough stretch, the Warriors will come home for a quick, but much needed breather before taking on the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
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With an NBA best 24-2 record at home, the Warriors definitely benefit from a packed Oracle Arena. Golden State definitely feeds off the energy of the home crowd — a crowd that is fired up by the team’s success, and one that has been longing to see the Warriors come home after having played a total of two games at Oracle in all of February.
With fifty-six games in the books, the rest of the March schedule will definitely test the Warriors’ depth and perseverance, straight through to the end of the regular season. Some upcoming games that fans are clamoring for — and games that will test Golden State’s mettle — include the rematch with the Eastern Conference leading Atlanta Hawks, the two games against their division rival Los Angeles Clippers, and an away game against the Southwest Division leading Memphis Grizzlies — who are pushing Golden State for the first seed in the West.
It’s quite the gauntlet to run before the postseason begins.
The second half of the season will showcase the bench and their ability to maintain a lead. They will need to continue to play strong defense, keep up their relentlessly up-tempo offensive style, that features strong ball movement, and exploitation of fast break opportunities.
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Before the playoffs start, the Warriors will need to give some of their stars some rest. They’ll need to control the minutes that Steph, Andre, Bogut and Klay are on the floor in order to make a strong presence as a fresh, ready and rested playoff team.
Will the Golden State maintain the blistering pace that allowed them to put together a 45-11 record? Probably not. But who can complain, when the Warriors could finish this season with one of their best records and strongest performances to date?
Will the team remain healthy? Will Stephen Curry sit, perhaps sacrificing games, in order to be rested and less fatigued as the Warriors head into the playoffs? Can Golden States bench players step up, keep up, and maintain their lead in the West? Will the Warriors finish out the remainder of the season strong and remain the team to beat?
Over the next few weeks, those questions — and more — will all be answered.