Last season the Golden State Warriors were a fun group who played an energetic, up-tempo style of basketball that riveted their crowd night in and night out. However, they never seemed to threaten the upper echelon of the western conference. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson made tremendous leaps, as the “Splash Brothers” led their team to the playoffs. There, they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games, and head coach Mark Jackson was promptly let go.
This year is shaping up to be a different story for the golden ones from the bay area. New head coach Steve Kerr has thrived with the young talent at his disposal, and the Warriors have jumped out to a league best 18-2 record. The blistering pace is anchored by Curry and Thompson, but also improvements from Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green behind them. Kerr has found a way to incorporate all of his pieces to accentuate their strengths. Barnes mentioned that one of the keys to his success was that he was no longer operating in iso-plays like he did under Jackson; an area of his game where he struggles.
Barnes’ improved play has also forced Kerr to make a tough decision regarding Andre Iguodala. Iguodala is a tremendous all-around player, who initially struggled with his new role on the bench. However, he has recently picked up his play and proved to be the selfless, team-first guy he has always been touted as. Iguodala anchors a second unit including recent additions Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa, who have provided a scoring spark and have all meshed well early on.
Through a quarter of the season, the Warriors are 1st in assists per game, 3rd in rebounds per game, 4th in points per game, and 6th in points allowed per game. Andrew Bogut has dominated the interior and has provided another element to their offensive attack, which was already more than potent. With David Lee sidelined, the Warriors secretly may have been better off in his absence. His role on the team had been in question over the past few seasons, but injuries have been an issue and the team has clearly not missed a beat without him.
With the offense humming and the defense playing as well as ever, the Warriors are clearly a favorite for this season. For the remainder of the season, they will have to address some issues that could crop up in the future. First off, can everyone stay healthy? Bogut has had a problem with injuries in his career, and without him in the middle Golden State simply is not the same team. He sets great picks for the shooters on offense, is an adept passer and ball-handler for a center, and provides a defensive presence no one else on this team can. Curry has also dealt with his share of injuries, although hopefully those are behind him. As one of the most exciting young players in the league, it would be a real shame to see him go down for an extended period of time.
Second, can Green and Barnes keep up their productive play? In only their third seasons in the NBA, they have both been shooting the ball better and have been contributing to one of the league’s stingiest defenses. Can they keep it up? If not, Golden State is still deep enough to switch Iguodala into the starting lineup again if need be, so a letdown or a prolonged slump by either of these guys should not be too much of an issue.
Finally, can Steve Kerr make the proper adjustments if things go wrong? As a first year coach, adjusting to personnel changes (such as injuries) or from a game plan that other coaches have figured out is a real challenge. However, Kerr has shown that he is a student of the game throughout his long, prosperous career as both a player and an executive, and appears to be ready for the challenge.
The western conference is clearly the deeper, better conference. The Denver Nuggets, currently in 11th place in the conference, would be in the playoffs in the eastern conference if the season ended today. Aside from that sad commentary on the east, this means the Warriors have their work cut out for them. The Spurs, Clippers, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers, Rockets, and Mavericks are all 10 games above .500 (!) and are all gunning for the top spot in the west as well. Out of all of those teams, only the Trail Blazers are less experienced in the playoffs. It appears to be a tall task, but at this point in the season, the Golden State Warriors certainly have proven that they are ready for the challenge, and certainly are one of the favorites in the NBA this year.