Secretly dangerous Warriors prowl for a bite from the NBA originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
PORTLAND – When the Warriors step onto the floor Wednesday night at Moda Center, they expect to crush the rebuilding and injury-plagued Portland Trail Blazers. They are expected to beat the rebuilding Jazz on Friday night in Utah and then come home on Sunday and knock off a Los Angeles Clippers team without their best player.
To hear the Global Association of Basketball Specialists (GABS) tell it, the Warriors should treasure those three wins because it won’t be easy for them to find another three-game winning streak this season.
It is a fair conclusion to reach. After mocking the rest of the NBA for a few years, the Warriors have missed the playoffs in three of the past five seasons. They have spent the past three seasons dropping down the Western Conference standings, from third to sixth to 10th. That’s why every preseason 2024 Power Rankings have them in the middle of the league; 14th is a popular place. Even with Stephen Curry still on the roster and sensational, at least 10 teams have better championship odds.
Yet the Warriors feel strangely good with who they are. They don’t seem to mind the “inferior” name. Which really feels like it’s secretly dangerous.
“How far can we go? Pretty far,” Draymond Green told NBC Sports Bay Area. “I don’t know if we can go all the way, but I didn’t know that in (2022) either. We’ll see how that turned out. I think we all knew, that we didn’t have a real chance in ’20 and ’21, but this is not like that at all.”
One constant storyline coming out of training camp and apparent in Golden State’s 6-0 preseason record is the total depth. Curry is the only perennial All-Star and Green remains a remarkable player/coach, but the cast around them is better than last season.
Andrew Wiggins, after his worst season, says he is ready for redemption. Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, both just 22, are older and wiser as they enter their fourth season. Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis are firmly in the rotation, with TJD likely starting in center. Gary Payton II looks healthy and entering a contract year. Kevon Looney, also in a contract year, is skinny and takes occasional sips on offense.
The most noticeable season-to-season difference, however, is with the three veterans acquired in the offseason. Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton impressed teammates and coaches with his skills and demeanor. Their presence is one reason why the chemistry is drawing raves across the board.
“I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people,” Wiggins told NBC Sports Bay Area. “We have a very, very deep team. We have a lot of defenders and a lot of shooters. A lot of guys you can put out there and know good things are going to happen.”
Long gone are the days when the Warriors were NBA royalty, but they are justified in their belief that they are not just another NBA team destined to spend six months fighting to finish above .500 in the standings.
The formula, as defined by coach Steve Kerr, is in understanding the draft and following it as a matter of routine.
“It’s depth, it’s strength in numbers, it’s grit,” Kerr said. “Defensively, a multiple effort team. And we have to push the ball.”
If these Warriors allow themselves to get bogged down in a lot of half-court offense, they will struggle and Kerr will be forced to start juggling lineups and rotation, as was the case last season. If they bring the energy and store it, they can be greater than the sum of their parts.
The players are pushed. Kerr’s new assistants, Terry Stotts for the offense and Jerry Stackhouse for the defense, have already had an effect. Stotts gives Kerr’s motion offense a greater sense of structure — especially in the midfield — and Stackhouse barks a language the players seem to like.
And everyone from general manager Mike Dunleavy to Kerr to Curry and Green agree that improving defensive efficiency is crucial for the team to climb out of the bottom half of the conference standings.
“With our group, if we play defense, big things are going to happen,” Wiggins said. “You want someone who will hold you accountable. That’s something (former assistant coach) Mike Brown did. He held people accountable. He is hard to replace. But I feel like Stack has done a great job so far of making his presence known and showing how much he cares about defense.”
Although stripped of their aura, the Warriors look like a team on the quiet romp. There is urgency because Curry is 36 and Green is 34. There is energy because the roster has been refreshed. There is confidence because, well, they have some very decorated leaders.
So they can sleep well knowing that they have been kicked out of their circle. Not one of the eight reporters at CBS Sports picked them to finish in the top six, and five have them outside the top eight. No one at ESPN or Yahoo Sports has them within sniffing distance of the Conference Finals. The Athletic has Golden State one-and-done in the playoffs.
Well done by the Warriors. They don’t know how good they can be, but they like what they have on the court and the bench. If they can follow the draft on a semi-regular basis, they should find themselves back in the velvet rope of the NBA’s 50-win club.
