Why The Golden State Warriors May Be The Best, And Most Divisive, Team Of The 21st Century

Much has been said and written of the Golden State Warriors’ torrid start.

Many are even prognosticating the current rendition of the Dubs to challenge the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls‘ 72-win record.

The Warriors have rampaged through every opponent that has stood in front of them thus far this season, winning all 14 of their contests by a mind-numbing Net Rating of +14.9 — which so happens to lead the league by over six points per 100 possessions.

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Teams that are fresh off of a successful championship run are usually not as hungry and as vociferous as Golden State; however, the implicit perception of them “lucking” their way into their NBA title might have given the Warriors — and in particular, their spiritual leader and renowned self-motivator, Draymond Green — the ammo they collectively needed to activate their “F U mode” right from the outset this year.

With that being said, even their strangle-hold over the league does not do the depth and substance of the team justice.

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Not only do they play an aesthetically-pleasing brand of contemporary ball — epitomizing the definition of modern-day positionless basketball — the team also has a knack of capturing the imagination of NBA fans everywhere, while simultaneously sparking the endless debate of cross-era comparisons.

Chiefly, Curry has gradually evolved into a generational icon — an indisputable superstar whose vast array of skills are often imitated, but never duplicated, and a face of the league who garners the love and adoration of the masses, even in rival arenas.

No player — not LeBron James nor Kobe Bryant — since the days of peak Michael Jordan inspires the same type of fear Curry does the minute he steps over the half-court line. What MJ did in the air, Steph does behind from beyond the arc.

The Curry phenomenon has gotten to the point where the opposing bench expressly deflates when Steph lines up for the rare uncontested three — slumping their shoulders and hanging their heads, fully-anticipating the Baby-Faced Assassin to drill his version of a layup.

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Moreover, Green and Curry inherently complement one another.

To be more specific, Draymond’s brash confidence rubs off on Steph — motivating the reigning MVP to fight over every screen and brush off the physical play imposed upon him.

Likewise, Curry’s limitless range accentuates Green’s multi-faceted skill-set, highlighting the threat of his ability to grab-and-go after a successful defensive stop.

The combination of Curry’s star power and the Dubs’ pace-and-space style have made the team’s early-season dominance the most captivating early-to-mid November NBA storyline in recent memory.

NBA fanatics are genuinely expecting the Warriors to win 70-plus games. Each tilt the Warriors participates in from here on out, will be treated as the greatest show in town and the opposition’s respective Super Bowl.

The heated contest Golden State engaged in this Thursday with their arch-nemesis, the Los Angeles Clippers, was simply riveting television.

In a time when football usually consumes the undivided attention of the North American general sporting public, the Warriors have effectively seized an uncommon amount of market share.

Although the Clippers would jump out to an impressive 23-point lead, led by Chris Paul — who was on a personal vendetta against Curry, scoring or assisting on 27 of L.A.’s first 30 points — the overall sentiment surrounding the match suggested the Warriors would go on an unprecedented onslaught sometime during the contest, and make it a game.

While I’m not old enough to have witnessed the 1985-86 Boston Celtics or the 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers, I can definitively say the Warriors have that 1995-96 Bulls, or the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers (post-All-Star-break version) aura in that no deficit is insurmountable.

Golden State simply has another gear — a nuclear weapon the team can employ when the going gets tough.

Sure enough, when the lead remained at double-digits early in the fourth quarter, “cool-hand” Luke Walton, despite some shoddy head coaching in the first half, would unleash the Draymond-at-the-five lineup.

The Warriors would go on a 3-point barrage; spearheaded by their suffocating “switch-everything” D, and the transition and secondary break opportunities their defense engendered.

Green was snatching defensive rebounds and leading the break, while Curry was breaking ankles and kissing babies.

The Golden Boy would pour in 13 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, and Andre Iguodala would nail two clutch 3s — not to mention, unleashing an incredible penguin-esque post-play celebration/dance.

By the end of the night, the crowd had gotten their money’s worth. Golden State would remain undefeated behind their unique, non-replicable positionless alignment.

However, not all are fans of the Warriors’ free-flowing, breathtaking style.

Proponents of “old-school” basketball, like Charles Barkley, have been persistent in their opinion that the success of “jump-shooting” teams is unsustainable. Despite being NBA champions, the aforementioned pundits feel the Dubs would get “mauled” if they were to play in their glory days of the 1990s.

What Barkley, and many other old-timers, are proclaiming are not without its merits. 25 years ago, the NBA landscape was dominated by a legion of 7-foot behemoths, like Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, handchecking had yet to be outlawed, and back then, teams generally played a more physical brand of basketball.

On the other hand, the 3-point shot was still perceived as somewhat of a gimmick — a hail mary of sorts when your primary and secondary options were denied. In fact, in 1989-90, NBA teams launched, on average, 541 3-point attempts. Fast forward to 2014-15, the average NBA team made 643 3-pointers and attempted 1,838.

But, while the handchecking argument is one most nostalgists cling onto, it ignores the fact that Golden State house a battalion of perimeter players that would thrive in such an environment. Versatile, athletic defenders, like Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, and even Klay Thompson, would benefit greatly under yesteryears’ rules.

Moreover, handchecking did not slow down the likes of Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway from averaging 20 and 10 on a nightly basis.

It’s hard to fathom how it could hinder an ultra-skilled guard with unlimited range like Curry — who, contrary to popular opinion, is an exceptional athlete in his own right. He might not be the fast-twitch specimen in the traditional sense, but his hand-eye coordination, body control and shiftiness are all elite traits.

Additionally, although he may look like the average male — in fact, he’s not much bigger than I am, which is not saying much, as we both stand at 6’2″ barefoot and weigh 185 pounds soaking wet — Curry has developed into one of the most creative and fearless finishers in the game. 

He seemingly concocts Steve Nash‘s wrong-footed takeoffs and high kisses off the glass with Mike Conley‘s ambidextrousness when unleashing their floater games.

Everything has come together for Steph this season, as he’s converting in close as proficiently as LeBron James.

Steph Curry Shot Allocation and Efficiency

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/20/2015.

Moreover, if the defense Chris Paul employed on Steph Thursday night is of any indication — where, as Bill Simmons on his latest episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast would describe, “Chris Paul fouled Steph Curry 250 times last night. It was like watching defensive backs from the 1970s guard wide receivers” — Curry would do just fine 25 years ago.

The truth is, defenses were not nearly as sophisticated back then. Team defenses are much more coordinated and the importance of synchronized help D is stressed and emphasized more so than in other era.

When you also take into account the shortened 3-point line deployed between 1995-97, and how teams nonchalantly guarded shots from the land of the great beyond, I would venture to say — between Steph’s greatness and the Warriors’ perimeter D — they would fare just fine in any era.

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With being said, there is no way to prove one way or the other — comparing cross-eras is essentially a fruitless proposition. Just like it’s impossible to compare the Celtics of the 1960s to the Showtime Lakers of 1980s, engaging in an argument of whether the ’96 Bulls would beat the current rendition of the Warriors is a Catch-22 destined for frustration.

For now, let’s enjoy what we’re seeing; what we’re witnessing; because one thing is for certain: the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors are special.