Golden State Warriors: Success Enters Uncharted Territory
By Ben Woodward
Following Wednesday night’s 121-104 route of the Los Angeles Clippers, the Golden State Warriors continue to applaud the efforts of their top-flight backcourt in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
The 4-0 start to the season is good enough to be considered their best in two decades. That means this is the best Golden State Warriors basketball since the 1994-95 Dubs opened the season with a 7-1 stretch.
What you won’t hear is that team, led by Latrell Sprewell and Tim Hardaway, ended up with a 26-56 record after Chris Mullin missed significant time due to injury — I have a hard time believing the 2014-15 season will produce a similar result.
So far, just a week into the new season, the Golden State Warriors have handled their business on the court as if every game is a proving ground. The preseason debate over best backcourt in the NBA? Obviously not settled yet, but Klay and Steph are averaging 27 and 26 points per game respectively.
The Warriors rank second in the league in points scored (109.5 PPG). They are also doing something that Dubs fans are accustomed to seeing in the Oracle — the Dubs are playing defense. Currently ranked fifth in the league in points allowed (93.8 PPG), they have formed a ridiculously balanced attack under new head coach Steve Kerr.
So what kind of success can the Golden State Warriors discover if they continue this type of play? The easy answer is: Who knows? But we’re not about the easy answer here at HoopsHabit.
In last year’s successful season ending in a first-round loss to the Clippers, the Dubs finished 10th in the league in points allowed, just under 100 per game. Going back further, the 2012-13 season resulted in just over 100 points per game and finishing 19th in the league.
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A common theme for both seasons? The Golden State Warriors fell early in the playoffs to teams that were able to overpower them offensively.
In the 2012-13 NBA playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs beat Golden State in six games, while averaging 102 points per game, compared to the Dubs’ 98.2 PPG.
In the 2013-14 NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Dubs in seven games, while averaging a whopping 110.9 points per game against a Warriors defense sorely lacking help in the big man department.
Quite a difference on Wednesday night.
If the Golden State Warriors can continue to beat good teams in the Western conference by double-digits, while playing top-quality defense and pouring in 120+ points, there is absolutely no telling what they can do.
The Warriors’ next test will come on Saturday night where they travel to Houston for a meeting with the Rockets, one of the NBA’s best teams so far in the young season. The Rockets seem to be following a similar path as the Dubs, combining potent offense with stifling defense.
In the Dubs first four games, they’ve had to aim their efforts at controlling opposing big men like Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMarcus Cousins. As anyone would expect, I expect the game plan to be for Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala to focus on containing James Harden as best they can, and keeping him off the free throw line.
If they can manage Harden and keep guys out of foul trouble against Dwight Howard, I believe the Golden State Warriors can pick up a huge road win on Saturday night, en route to an uncharted season of success.