Golden State Warriors Bench is the Best in the NBA
The Golden State Warriors have three of the most talented players in the league, as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are essentially unstoppable, but the team’s bench could help this team earn another NBA title sooner rather than later.
On Monday, the Warriors beat the Miami Heat with a score of 111-103. Curry contributed 31 points, and Green had another highly productive performance with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Despite that positive output, Golden State found themselves in a tight game at the start of the fourth quarter.
Nobody on this Warriors’ team was going to let their winning streak at home come to an end. Marreese Speights exploded off the bench in the fourth to spark Golden State’s takeover. It’s also worth noting that this happened without Curry and other starters on the court. Players such as Speights, Shaun Livingston, and Andre Iguodala can get hot and contribute as effectively as Curry or Green.
This late win by the bench is also impressive because Miami are among the consistently decent teams in the league. Despite their age, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade won’t go down without a fight. However, it was clear that the Heat couldn’t keep up with the depth of the Golden State Warriors.
A glance at the game’s box score will show how important the bench players are to the Warriors. Golden State’s starters performed to expectations, yet the team’s net points were negative while each starter was on the court. Net points were positive for every single bench player on the Golden State Warriors.
This certainly doesn’t mean Curry, Green, and Thompson played a bad game. All three of them had strong performances. In this game, the difference in the end result came directly from Golden State’s depth. The starters put the Warriors in a position to win, and the bench sealed the deal.
Based on the team’s success recently, NBA fans understand that guys like the Splash Brothers and Green are the stars of the Golden State Warriors. Anybody would be correct by saying the Warriors are a dangerous team because of the stars. However, it’s easy for anyone to overlook how scary Golden State truly is with their impressive bench.
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Curry didn’t win the NBA Finals MVP; that honor went to Iguodala. He played all of last season on the bench, but he started much of the Finals. A bench player was the team’s x-factor to win last year’s title. The Warriors could see a very similar end to this season.
The Golden State Warriors reached a record of 36-2 with this win against the Heat. A record like that doesn’t simply happen because of star players. Golden State is great because every player contributes at a high level. The Warriors don’t go into remission when guys like Curry and Green are resting on the bench. Iguodala, Speights, and Livingston take those opportunities to assert their importance to the Warriors.
Next: Klay Thompson Re-Establishing Himself as NBA All-Star
From top to bottom, the Golden State Warriors are the best team in the NBA. They have a tough stretch of games coming up with a contest against the Spurs on January 25th. The coming weeks will show more about Golden State’s great depth and strong team play.