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NBA Power Rankings: 2014-15 Western Conference Projections

By Shane Young

May 29, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (left) and San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) react during the second half in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
May 29, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (left) and San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) react during the second half in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA Power Rankings
Apr 13, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after making a basket against the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Golden State Warriors — 55-27

Hardest month:  April  (.541)

Weakest month:  December  (.479)

Back-to-backs:  19

If there’s something I want next season more than anything — besides a limit on the injuries — it’s for Mark Jackson to walk into the Bay Area and call a Warriors home game with the ABC broadcast.  Who wouldn’t want to see the reunion?  More so, would be the enjoyment of listening to Jackson talk about the nuances of his offensive principles compared to what new head coach Steve Kerr is running.

The Warriors didn’t make the right decision to fire Jackson based on basketball reasoning and progression in the West, but they did it for backstage reasons.  Jackson and management didn’t see eye-to-eye, and this change may have been necessary for business.  For on the court production and proven success, what has Kerr brought to the table in a coaching atmosphere?  Nothing.

He has the right combination in his backcourt to succeed, however, taking into account his legacy as a 3-point shooting advocate.  To Kerr, spacing the court, having inside-out play styles, and surrounding the bigs with three shooters is how the game should be played.  For Kerr, primarily, he was a proponent of the spot-up shooting from the wings and corners.  With Golden State, though, he gets the best of both worlds.  He gets to coach the quickest release in the league and a guy that can shoot off the dribble even better than off the catch, Stephen Curry.

Curry equals one of the more likable point guards in the league because of his lack of hesitation to pull up from the outside.  It keeps defenses on their toes, and makes them believe a triple is suspect at any time.  Thus, he was able to get inside the paint fairly easily over the last two seasons.

With the best defensive small forward in all the land, Andre Iguodala, the ultimate test for Kerr will be if he can keep Golden State’s defense as a top five unit, as they were with Jackson.  Iguodala’s defensive capabilities set their win total back when he left the lineup due to a hamstring tear, which forced the Warriors into the sixth seed.  Without homecourt advantage, you can almost always chalk up a loss in the first round.

Iguodala became the only small forward to record a Defensive Real Plus-Minus over 4.0, where he was right above teammate Draymond Green, a candidate for Most Improved Player of the Year next season.

Although I’ll ride the fence on whether or not pulling the trigger for a Kevin Love trade was something they should’ve done, paying Klay Thompson at the end of his deal won’t be such a negative as everyone is indicating.  Finding a backcourt duo that can nail 484 combined 3-pointers in one season (on 1,150 attempts) is unprecedented.