The Golden State Warriors came into the season with mixed expectations. Coming off of 43 and 46 win seasons, the Dubs had a major shake up to their roster this offseason as franchise icon Klay Thompson departed as a free agent. Yet, Golden State is off to a great start so how seriously should we take the Warriors?
There is no doubt, the Warriors had a soft schedule to start the season. Their wins before Wednesday had been against Portland, Utah, New Orleans (twice), Houston and Washington. Not exactly murders row but they were 6-1 and looked impressive being 6th in offensive efficiency and 2nd in defensive efficiency. Last night’s game was a big stepping point for the Warriors. They held the Celtics to 40 points in the first half and though Boston made a push, the Warriors scored in every possession over the last 4 minutes of the game, winning it 118-112. This is starting to feel real, is it sustainable?
The Warriors have one of the deepest rosters in the NBA. It obviously starts and ends with Curry, who was great on Wednesday with 27 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds on shooting splits of .47/.44/1.00. This goes beyond Curry though. Andrew Wiggins is off to a great start to the season averaging 15.8 points per game and being accountable to guard the opposing team's best wing, he frustrated Jayson Tatim a lot on Wednesday night. Buddy Hield has been a revelation for Golden State. He has replaced Klay’s shooting from those great teams, though he isn’t the defender Thompson was during the early days of the dynasty. Hield is shooting 51% from 3 point range off of Golden State’s bench. Kevon Looney 34 offensive rebounds this season off the bench, Gary Payton II has been great on defense and Draymond Green is doing Draymond Green things. Golden State has gotten a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys and it has resulted in a lot of wins to start the new year.
A large reason, Golden State has played so well to start the season is that they have been excellent in the minutes that Curry has been on the bench. In 138 minutes that Curry has been on the court this season Golden State has been out scoring teams by 17.8 points per 100 possessions, with Curry on the bench Golden State has been out scoring teams by 13.9 points per 100 possessions. If you take those numbers back to last season the Warriors were +2.4 with Curry on the court and +2.3 with him off the court. They were mediocre whether number 30 was on the court or not. To start this season, they have been excellent in both cases.
The Warriors next 2 games are big tests. First they have the 9-0 Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night and then 7-1 Thunder on Sunday night. While Boston was without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, Cleveland and Oklahoma City will have all of the best players on the court. The Warriors passed test one last night with the win in Boston, next up are 2 young teams who have been 2 of the best to start the season.
The Golden State Warriors have been one of the best stories in the NBA to start the season. The former dynasty is looking to find a way to win one more championship in the Stephen Curry and Draymond Green era and although there is a long way to go, they are off to a pretty good start.
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