Golden State Warriors: Perimeter defense could be a problem next season

ByJustin Fried|Jul 24, 2019, 2:56 PM EDT

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 13: Shaun Livingston #34 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates with Stephen Curry #30 against the Toronto Raptors in the second half during Game Six of the 2019 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 13, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The Golden State Warriors have gone through quite a good amount of change this offseason, but perhaps nothing will be greater than the change they’ll see on defense.

TheGolden State Warriorswill look like a completely different team when they first take the floor back in San Francisco next season.

Gone are mainstays such asKevin Durant,Andre Iguodala, andShaun Livingston— and temporarily gone is star shooting guardKlay Thompson. And in their place, the likes ofD’Angelo Russell,Willie Cauley-Stein, and more will be asked to step up.

While they may be able to replace their aging bench depth and Russell could provide a suitable replacement for Thompson for the time being, what they will not be able to replace is their contributions on the defensive side of the floor.

In short, the Warriors could have a real problem on their hands this season — and it shouldn’t be scoring the basketball.

While the Warriors dynasty made its name by scoring ungodly amounts at unprecedented rates, it was the team’s defense that often carried them to victory. But now, the backbone of the Warriors dynasty is set to change

More specifically, the team’s perimeter defense will be most affected.

Golden State will, of course, return defensive stalwartDraymond Greenwho is arguably the best defensive player in the NBA today with the accolades and analytics to back it up. They will also return valuable role playerKevon Looneywho also provides some stout defense down low.

In fact,FiveThirtyEight’s aptly named defensive statistic“DRAYMOND” even rated Looney as the team’s top defender last season scoring a rating of 2.72. Unfortunately, only three current Warriors even graded out above-average — and two of them were Green and Looney.

Even with the addition of the defensively-challenged Cauley-Stein, the Warriors frontcourt defense shouldn’t be a major concern at all. Throw in rookie second-round pickEric Paschalland you have a very solid rotation of defenders to mask Cauley-Stein’s weaknesses.

However, the same cannot be said for the Warriors backcourt. And as such, their perimeter defense could struggle mightily next season.

Stephen Curryhas never been known as a particularly strong defender and the same could be said for Russell. Russell’s 6-foot-10 wingspan allows him to record above-average steal and block rates but his overall team defense needs a ton of work.

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Essentially, Russell may be able to do a lot of the same things Thompson does on offense, but he will pale in comparison to his efforts on the defensive side. And the same could be said for the Warriors role players.

The aforementioned Livingston was a solid, well-rounded defender whose reach and wingspan allowed for the same steal and block production that we see from Russell — if not more. The only difference is that years of experience made Livingston a much better team defender than his younger adversary.

And on the wing, the likes ofJordan PooleandAlec Burksare hardly encouraging options — at least defensively. Burks has never been a stout defender as evidenced by his -1.49 DRAYMOND rating last season and Poole is still very inexperienced in that facet.

Replacing Durant and, more importantly, Iguodala on defense should prove challenging as well as projected starting small forwardAlfonzo McKinniegrades out as a below-average defender. And don’t even get us started onGlenn Robinson III‘s “defense.”