This offseason, it was hard not to focus on the shock of seeing Klay Thompson in another jersey and wondering what that would mean for the Warriors chemistry. There was (and still is) talk about how Golden State needs to land a second star to put next to Stephen Curry.
Through it all, the Warriors front office was quietly willing to tell anyone who would listen that their team was getting better. Deeper. Kind of a “just watch, you’ll see” vibe.
We look and see now.
Any doubts about this team should have been answered when they came back from seven points down midway through the fourth quarter to beat the defending champion Celtics in Boston on Wednesday. Never mind that the Celtics were shorthanded, this was a Golden State team that showed real grit and came back to win a game they wouldn’t have a season ago.
“It’s a statement,” Buddy Hield told Monte Poole on NBC Sports Bay Area. “If we don’t win this game, everybody says, ‘Oh, they’re not playing anybody.’ So, you have to come and make a statement, right?”
That statement begins on defense.
Warrior defense is back
We’ll forever call that the Stephen Curry era in Golden State, but those four championship banners hang in the Chase Center because those Warriors were one of the best defenses in the league.
That defense is back, looking a little different but still elite. A defense that held Boston to 40 first-half points and got stops down the stretch when they needed it.
Defense that is second in the NBA in defensive rating and 10.6 points per 100 possessions better than last season.
The difference is personnel. That and the voice of new assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse being in their ear.
This year’s Warriors are younger and more athletic and they push the ball all over the court – they catch and swarm ball handlers. They jump passing lanes. They are disruptive.
“We’re just trying to keep bodies on top of bodies in the half court…” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area. “We’re a little bigger than we were last year. We have more wing backs. If we can get a rebound, we’re usually in good shape.”
It’s a much more aggressive defense than we’ve seen from Steve Kerr teams in the past – credit Stackhouse for part of that (you can hear him yelling defensive calls on the broadcast, he’s not shy). A healthy Gary Payton II coming off the bench has been a big part of the turnaround, too, and he looks like a plug that Kerr can turn to in key moments.
Kerr also decided to play a big man – usually Trayce Jackson-Davis but sometimes a thinner and well-playing Kevon Looney – next to Draymond Green, allowing arguably the greatest defender of a generation to return to being more of a free safety. who can help or change when called upon.
Everything worked.
Kerr’s lesson from Paris: Play everybody
These Warriors are deeper — and Steve Kerr is leaning into it.
While the focus was on Thompson leaving, the Warriors brought in Buddy Hield, a shooter who has thrived in the Warriors shift offense so far averaging 21.1 points per game shooting 50.7% from 3. Golden State also brought in De’Anthony Melton and Kyle. Anderson (both hampered by injuries), and they have a healthy Payton off the bench.
Kerr was reminded to trust his bench during the Paris Olympics (even if Jayson Tatum disagrees). Of course, it’s easy to trust a bench that has Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo and Tatum on it, but Kerr brought that same mentality to the Warriors and they thrived on it.
The legs are kept fresh. No one on the Warriors is averaging more than 28.1 minutes per game (Brandin Podziemski) but 11 players are playing at least 15 minutes a night – Kerr went 11 deep on his bench against Boston and the guy who played the fewest minutes was Lindy Waters III at nearly 14. (Curry, Green and Andrew Wiggins all played over 30 minutes in that game).
The Warriors are also more disciplined on offense with a focus on not turning the ball over, something that was the Achilles heel of the top Warriors.
“We can’t be the same team we were five or six years ago and give away five or six possessions in the name of creating chaos,” Kerr said after the Celtics’ win — during which he yelled at Curry for a careless turnover . “Everybody else is playing fast and shooting 3s today, too.
“Boston shot 20 more 3s than we did in the second half. So it’s hard to win if you give possessions away. I was all over Steph and Draymond. I owe them because they’re our leaders and they’re the guys who handle the ball the most. They need to reduce their bad decisions like this.”
So far, so good.
The Warriors are still in the market for another quality shot creator and scorer, they’ll probably need one come the playoffs when every team is good and defenses are more drilled in things like slowing down Curry or stopping Hield. The trade dynamic is different now, however, than when the Warriors pursued Paul George and Lauri Markkanen this offseason — these Warriors don’t need to feel pressure to make a move. There is no despair. As the clock ticks down on the careers of Curry and Green, right now the Warriors look like a threat without that second scorer. There’s no need for Golden State to overpay.
There are only eight games in the NBA season – think of it as 2.5 miles in a marathon. Most of the racing and challenges are ahead, but pace and rhythm have been established.
That pace has the Warriors looking like contenders in the West — as they defend as the Warriors championship once again.
