Defensive focus key to Warriors re-establishing championship identity originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – For all the offensive fireworks the Warriors have provided over the years between the star power of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and many others in their decade as a dynastyit was always the other side of the ball that led them to counting championship rings on their fingers. Always.
Even at 36 years old, the whole world knows that Steph Curry can still score 30 points easily and break out for 40-point performances – or even more. The Warriors are confident that Klay Thompson’s scoring void can be filled by the likes Andrew WigginsJonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and others. But for them to avoid the playoffs, be a playoff team and have a chance to contend, shoring up their defense will be a top priority.
“We have to get back to defending at a high level,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said Thursday at Chase Center. “We have to be in the top five, six, seven in the league in defense at least. That’s really been the recipe here all along.”
The Warriors last season when they won 46 games but finished 10th in the Western Conference and were crushed by the Sacramento Kings in the playoffs were not one of the top five, six or seven teams in the league when it comes to defensive evaluation Not even the top 10. Their 114.5 team defensive rating had them right in the middle of the NBA at 15th overall.
Eight teams in the Western Conference had a better defensive rating than them.
When the Warriors won their most recent championship in 2022, they had a defensive rating of 106.6, which was best in the West and second overall in the NBA. Only the Boston Celtics, the team the Warriors beat in the NBA Finals, had a better defensive rating at 106.2.
Beginning with their first title under coach Steve Kerr in 2015, the Warriors finished first, sixth, second, 11th and 11th again in team defensive rating during their run of five straight trips to the Finals. Those last two seasons they also finished third and first in offensive rating with a team that had main Curry, Thompson and Durant.
“Our transition defense fell off the map last year,” Kerr said. “A big emphasis in camp will be to support that.”
The numbers show that Kerr is not exaggerating either.
Golden State allowed the sixth most points in transition per game, and the 1.17 points per possession the Warriors allowed in transition was the third most in the NBA. The Warriors were in the 17th percentile in pass defense, seeing others run right by them.
There are reasons for encouragement, however. The Warriors are extremely excited to have a healthy Gary Payton II, knowing how important his availability will be to their success. Adding Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton should be a boost defensively. Trayce Jackson-Davis has been a difference maker as a rim protector, and Draymond Green continues to be a threat for opposing offenses.
“I just want to get back to being really good on that end knowing that we can rely on our ability to get stops no matter what the ranking is,” Kerr said.
Kerr and Dunleavy also know the Warriors need to improve in transition as well on offense. They were the fourth worst team in transition points per game last season, and also ranked fourth in transition points per possession. Only the Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls averaged fewer transition points per game than the Warriors last season.
The Blazers won a Western Conference-low 21 games, the same number of wins the Hornets had. The Bulls were a 39-win team, far from where the Warriors want to be.
“I think there’s a mindset we have to get into, and it’s going to be a huge part of the trip to Hawaii and the next few weeks is changing our mindset, understanding the change of ownership,” Kerr said. “The first guy that moves wins, and we were off on the second guy last year. We were a very reactive transition team both ways.
“On offense, our problem was turnovers. We turned it over too often. We need to improve our transition spacing. We will work on all those things in camp. We need to improve our decision making. Hopefully that comes with some maturity for our younger players but also some high-efficiency basketball from our newer players. Steph and Draymond, they have to lead the charge on that in that regard.
“As a coaching staff, we have to lay out exactly what that means to improve in transition in both directions. There’s going to be a lot of drill that goes into that.”
Having a training camp in Hawaii will serve its purpose in bonding time for everyone. Kerr also explained that the real purpose between palm trees and beaches creates an identity that these Warriors can proudly lean on for all 82 games and counting.
