Golden State Warriors: As the dust settles
The Golden State Warriors are still yet to dazzle us like they did last season, but they are indisputable leaders of the Western Conference, and the league. It is a scary fact especially when you consider that they are still yet to hit top gear.
The NBA has been a full-throttle, all-guns-blazing affair, especially in the ‘wild wild West’. Teams are rabid in their attempts to topple the Golden State Warriors, and are holding nothing back in their quest. From the West to the East, the title-caliber teams (think Cleveland, Houston, Oklahoma) all tried to get star-studded lineups to match the Warriors’ quad-tentacled hydra. While the playoff teams (think Spurs, Celtics, Clippers, Pelicans, Raptors) all looked to reinforce the cast around their star(s) so as to offer more resistance.
An opening day meltdown to the revamped Houston Rockets (who remain obsessed with beating the Warriors), a 7-3 start to the season (not worthy of the lofty standards we hold the Warriors to), and a subpar Stephen Curry and company seemed to mean the dubs were feeling the heat. Even while leading the league in defense after eight games, the Warriors were still a dismal bottom-five in opponent points off turnovers, opponent second chance points, and opponent points off fast breaks. Draymond Green was not looking like the reigning DPOY, Curry was not Stephortless, and even Iguodala was not in his usual super sixth-man form.
The Kyrie-led Celtics and Harden’s Rockets, plus the Drummond-run Pistons had made their early runs, and all were getting the better of the Warriors in their surge. There was fire on the mountain (or so it seemed).
Starting a fire of their own
Certainly, they felt the raging fire beneath and all around them, but Coach Steve Kerr‘s constant calm implied that the fire was just warming them up. Little niggles and concentration issues plagued the team’s start to their title defense, but the Warriors found a way to win, even without their stars. When playing without any combination of its stars this season, the Golden State Warriors have never really been threatened, but rather have shown what all those years of survival in the shadows of the league has taught them; Build a family rather than just a team, get a deep bench, and trust it because there is strength in numbers.
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Fringe players always seem to step up to the plate as seamlessly as the starters come back into the flow after a stint out, as evidenced by the supersonic rise of rookie Jordan Bell, the ever-reliable play of David West, or the 10-for-13 from deep return of Curry after 11 games out.
The starters have also bellowed their worth to this growing fire. Klay Thompson has been probably the most consistent and available starter for the Warriors this season; barring their loss to the thunder where he scored just nine points, Thompson has put up at least 14 points, and at least one three-pointer in every game this season. Kevin Durant has also been a beast, hovering excruciatingly close to that exclusive 50/40/90 club, while making a case for best two-way player in the league, leading the league’s forwards in blocks per game (second overall) and in the plus/minus category.
An 8-2 run in their last 10 games has seen the Warriors outlast the early frontrunners in a supercharged December, and left them standing as the only team with a single-digit loss count (31-8), enough to be best in division, conference and league, now that the dust of the early season settles.
The All-Star Break now approaches, and the Warriors have kindled their own fire, and picking up steam. Will the rest of the league be able to stand the heat when the business end of the season kicks off after the break?
Next: Bell Developing into Key Contributor
** All statistics are collected from basketball-reference.com or nba.com, unless otherwise mentioned**