Golden State Warriors: Review of the First 11 Games

The Golden State Warriors have posted an outstanding 9-2 record in the first 11 games of the season and have impressed on both ends of the floor. Let’s took back at how the team has performed over the first 11 games of the season.

In his introduction press conference and over the course of his various pressers since, Steve Kerr made it known that his offense would emphasize ball movement and getting players open off the ball, and the offense has done exactly that.

Gone are the isolation plays that would kill offensive momentum, and in is a new offense that when run properly, leads to beautiful basketball. The offense consistently is creating open looks, and given the talent of players such as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, even an inch is too much room for these two to get buckets.

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There is both a high and a low to the new offense. The high is that the Warriors are second in the NBA in points per game at 108.6, trailing only the Dallas Mavericks (108.9). The downside is that while the team is still adjusting to the flow of the new offense, it has led to an excessive amount of turnovers.

Golden State leads the NBA in turnovers per game, with an ugly 19.3. Some of the turnovers are careless passes or just the result of one player trying to do too much, so this number will get cleaned up a bit. But in an offense that focuses on so much ball movement, expect a high turnover rate to continue.

One concern that many had heading into the season was if the Warriors were going to focus so much on improving the offense, how would the defense fare? Thanks to the hiring of long-time NBA assistant and noted defensive guru Ron Adams, the defense looks just as good, if not better, than last season’s team.

According to basketball-reference.com, the Warriors are currently ranked third in the league in defensive rating. This rating is based on points allowed per 100 possessions, and the Warriors are only allowing 98.4.

A few things are key here. For one, Curry has improved on the defensive side of the ball. He’s still no All-Pro but the improvements have been noticeable, and it’s made a big impact on the defense. For example, if Curry is able to stay in front of his defender, no help defense is required and everyone can stay home on their assignments.

"When asked about his improvement’s on the defensive end and if he was going for All-NBA Defense, Curry said, “Spread the word.”"

The next key component to the defense is the absence of David Lee, which as bad as that may sound, has led to an increase in minutes for Draymond Green. Green is an outstanding defender who can guard four different positions, and his increased role thus far is a big reason why the Warriors have been so stout defensively.

Add those two factors with the continued defensive prowess of Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut, and you’ve got an outstanding defensive unit.

The last factor for the hot start is the improved bench. The Warriors may very well be the deepest team in the NBA with a backup seven-man rotation that would probably beat a handful of NBA teams on their own (looking at you, Philadelphia).

Shaun Livingston, Brandon Rush, Harrison Barnes, Marreese Speights, Festus Ezeli, Leandro Barbosa and one of Iguodala/Green have provided a combination of scoring and defensive ability that have kept the Warriors winning while the starters rest. The strong bench play is a nice luxury for a coach to have at his disposal and will be critical to keeping the team healthy as the season goes on.