Golden State Warriors Mailbag: Thompson’s Injury, Bogut, Improvement
Mar 11, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) high fives guard
Shaun Livingston(34) after a basket and a foul against the Detroit Pistons during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
@MaggiePilloton Realistically, how much better can the Warriors get heading into the post season?
— Tam (@MsTamnCali) March 12, 2015
Every NBA team can improve in some way, but honestly, for the Warriors, you have to nitpick in order to find ways they can improve. The Warriors already have one of the best, if not the best, offenses and defenses in the NBA, statistically and fundamentally.
On offense, the Warriors move the ball and the players move without the ball beautifully, they can score in many ways, they have many offensive weapons, and they have elite three-point shooting.
On defense, the Warriors can switch quickly and effectively, their help defense is solid, they have some elite perimeter defenders, they can rebound, and they can push the ball in transition after getting a stop.
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As an outlook for the rest of the season, the Warriors truly need to focus on staying healthy and staying strong. That’s why it’s good for the Warriors to rest Thompson for the next 7-10 days, in order to ensure that he will healthy for the end of the season and heading into the playoffs.
As far as improvements, it’s truly hard to find those. Some people believe that the Warriors need more help at the center position. If Bogut and Festus Ezeli are healthy though, that’s all they need. Yes, both players are more defensive players than scorers, but the Warriors don’t need them to be scorers with Curry, Thompson, and others on the roster.
Some people believe that the Warriors rely too much on their jump shooting, and that will cost them in their pursuit of a championship. I don’t agree with the mentality that a jump-shooting team can’t win a championship, but I also believe that if the Warriors moved away from shooting, that’d take away one of their strongest assets and would severely hurt their offense.
The Warriors truly don’t have many weaknesses. That’s why they’re 53-13. The Warriors will need to execute on both ends of their court, not get complacent, and not play down to their opponents for the rest of the season and into the playoffs. If they do those things, they will have a strong postseason run.