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Can The Golden State Warriors Finish With The NBA’s Best Record?

By Nathan Grubel

Jan 31, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) and guard Stephen Curry (30) are introduced before the start of the game against the Phoenix Suns at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Suns 106-87. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) and guard Stephen Curry (30) are introduced before the start of the game against the Phoenix Suns at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Suns 106-87. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Before the season, many picked the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs to finish on top of their respective conferences and go on championship-caliber runs.

Oh, how times have changed.

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Nearly standing at the halfway point of the regular season, the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks have become the darlings of the NBA, currently holding the two best records the league has to offer.

The Hawks have made a lot of improvements themselves and really look like an offensive juggernaut at this point just because of how well they move the ball.

However, they don’t have the Splash Brothers.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have become the best backcourt in the NBA, and it’s not even close. Both players have had MVP-like seasons for the best team in arguably the toughest Western Conference the league has ever seen.

Curry and Thompson have been lethal from downtown, making a combined 42.1 percent of their three-point attempts, and they haven’t showed any signs of slowing down. Thompson recently had a record-breaking night scoring the ball, and Curry has continued to dazzle fans with his ball-handling and passing abilities that pair nicely with his shooting and ridiculous finishes at the rim.

These two have become more valuable to this team that Warriors’ management might’ve ever imagined, but the front office’s great work hasn’t stopped at discovering these two talents.

Draymond Green has proved to be more than a beast for the Warriors this season.

Green has been one of the key defensive presences for the Warriors along with big man Andrew Bogut. Even though Bogut has patrolled the paint and been an ever-important rim protector for Golden State, Green has been a more important player on that end of the floor because of the versatility he has displayed to this point.

There are not a lot of players in the league that switch on defense so effortlessly between the two and four spots. But that’s just what Green makes a living doing. Whether it is in the perimeter or in the post, Green has excelled in the one-on-one matchup game like very few players can. The Warriors have even played him at the center position in a pinch late in games to give the team a more capable offensive weapon down the stretch.

Green may be the favorite for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award right now, but we can’t forget about what he can do on offense. Green is a terrific ball-handler who can make plays for others, especially down low. Green loves to pass the ball on the interior to teammates Bogut and David Lee for easy scores, and he even finds other perimeter players cutting to the rim on the regular.

Even with stars such as Curry, Thompson, Green and Bogut, the list of quality players goes on for the Warriors. They’re most certainly one of the deepest teams in the league, along with the Spurs, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies. Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala and Leandro Barbosa are just a few more of the talented rotational players Golden State can turn to down the stretch.

Like them or hate them, this is a team that is built to win in the regular season. With strong perimeter shooting and a top-five defensive unit, there is no stopping the Warriors at this point in the season. Whether they can win in the postseason remains to be seen, but this team is not falling off anytime soon.

This is the Western Conference’s best team right now. No one is taking the No. 1 seed from them.

*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

Next: Golden State Warriors: Midseason Team Awards?

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