All that Glitters Is Gold in the Golden State
We’ve talked about the saying, “Defense wins championships,” but for the Golden State Warriors, it seems the reverse is true. Remember how the Warriors began their 2016-17 season with a 100-129 loss to the San Antonio Spurs? Remember how I wrote an article saying, “This season opener raised too many questions to predict another title run for Golden State”? Well as it turns out, we’re now almost a third of the way through the NBA season and many of those questions have been answered. Granted the biggest one—the one about their defense—still remains a bit of a mystery, but when it comes to chemistry, when it comes to the roster finding their rhythm, it’s clear that the Warriors are hitting their stride.
Currently, Golden State stands at 16-3 with the best record in the league. If anyone, myself included, has questioned whether or not they’re title caliber, well they (we) should just shove a big, sweaty foot in their (my) mouth—cause the fact is, Golden State’s looking especially golden right now. With only three losses, the most recent coming at the hands of the Houston Rockets, the team is gelling from top to bottom.
In what many were calling a preview to the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors fell in double OT to James Harden and the Rockets, snapping a twelve game win streak. Despite Durant’s 39-point, 13-rebound performance, the Warriors were unable to overcome missteps early in the game. The Rockets came out firing in the first quarter, jumping to a 13-4 lead while shooting six of seven from the field. In the first half alone, Stephen Curry racked up three fouls and only played 11 total minutes. Defensively, they gave up 64 points before heading into halftime. Eventually those errors would come back to haunt them. Despite stepping it up in the second half, the Warriors played from behind all game long. Then, after pushing the game into double overtime, Curry fouled out with just over three minutes to play. Golden State went 1-11 from the field, scoring a total of four points in the second OT. They looked tired and out of sorts with the exception of Kevin Durant, who was forced into a familiar role, having to take the tough shots and carry a largely lethargic offense. Meanwhile, James Harden posted his fourth triple-double of the season on the way to a record-breaking 132-127 victory. Looking at the stat line, it’s easy to see how the Warriors came up short. Klay Thompson, who’s averaging 20.4 points per game, finished 4-20 from the field. And Zaza Pachulia, who played a total of eight minutes, forced Green to play big the whole game, and though he was one assist shy of a triple double, his four turnovers (plus Curry’s five) shot them in the foot. More than anything, this was a game where Golden State’s defense (a unit that’s given up an average of 106.3 points per game) simply gave too much room to the Rockets. Nonetheless, they fought hard and pushed one of the league’s top teams into 2OT. And the good news is, the Warriors won’t face the Rockets again until January 20.
So now that we’ve gotten this loss out of the way, let’s examine what’s made Golden State so successful this year. Statistically speaking, they’re blowing every other team out of the water on offense. In that respect, it’s been a historic start to the season in Oakland. With a per-game average of 118.1 points, they’re outscoring their opponents by 11.8 a game. And that per-game average? It’s eight points higher than the next best offensive team. Plus, they’re shooting .496 from the field. That means more points on fewer possessions. Right now, the only way for teams to beat the Warriors is by getting into a shootout.
But that’s where things get a bit muddled. Defensively, Golden State leaves much to be desired. Unlike their Pacific Division counterpart, the LA Clippers, they don’t play shutdown ball in the backcourt. In fact, when it comes to winning they rely strictly on offensive firepower to prevail—which isn’t exactly a problem for them considering the strength of their offense. But for some reason, it’s leaving a bad taste in people’s mouth. TNT Pundit and Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley stated, following the Warrior’s loss to Houston, that they play “little girly basketball.” Misogyny aside, it’s quite a dig against a team that won an NBA record 73 games in 2015. Not to mention their biggest star is having the best season of his career.
Thus far, Durant is averaging 27.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.6 blocks and 2.3 turnovers per game. He is shooting 57 percent from the field, 44.2 percent from deep and 84.9 percent from the free throw line. Overall, he’s playing the best basketball of his life—which comes as somewhat of a surprise considering he’s joined a team already packed to the hilt with depth and star quality. Many expected his production to drop this year. Instead, he’s increased his shooting percentage, and playing with a level of efficiency that’s simply unheard of for a player with the ball in his hand as much as Durant.
Following a win against the Atlanta Hawks last week, veteran teammate Andre Iguodala said of KD’s play, “[He’s] been just about as good as you can possibly be. I don’t think he’s really scratched the surface as far as what he can do. He’s kind of holding back on everyone else, so I’m looking forward for him to step on that pedal as we continue.”
Can you imagine Durant playing better than he’s already playing? Right now his numbers are on par with his stats in 2013-14 when he won the MVP—only difference is his accuracy has increased tremendously. If he were to step on the pedal, as Iguodala says, one can only imagine how dominant he could be. Right now, he’s 28 years old, in the prime of his career, and now in the midst of a major upswing in play. If Iguodala is right, we’re witnessing NBA history. And if Durant’s performance is any indication, the Golden State Warriors are on pace for another historic season—maybe not 73-wins historic but historic nonetheless. Needless to say, it’s a great time to be a fan of the Warriors, and an especially auspicious time for those NBA fans that love the cushiness of a good bandwagon.
For now, the biggest questions are… can the Warriors stay healthy and can they continue to perform at this peak offensive level? If those two things happen, we might be in for another Cavs-Warriors Finals Series—because let’s face it… there isn’t a team in the East that we can reasonably expect to beat the Cavs in a seven game series. But with the Rockets, the Spurs, and the Clippers playing how they’re playing, the West is certainly up for grabs. That is, unless the Warriors start to play in the backcourt with the same ferocity and intention that they play in the front court. All in all, it’s just a matter of time before we see how things will unfold from here on out.
