Golden State Warriors: 3 Players To Hit Big Milestones In 2014-15
By Ben Woodward
The Golden State Warriors are prepared for 2014-15 as a season to build on their successes from last year. The Dubs enjoyed an exciting little playoff run, taking the Los Angeles Clippers to seven games in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Mark Jackson’s Warriors eventually found themselves overmatched against Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and, more importantly, Doc Rivers.
Looking ahead, the Warriors are now poised for their best year in recent seasons after a productive offseason and another year to develop budding All-Star point guard Stephen Curry. The scoring phenom has finally begun to draw massive attention after leading the Dubs to winning records since his installation as the primary floor general. Averaging 24 points and 8.5 assists per game last season, Curry is on a war path of what should include All-Star appearances, broken franchise records and statistics milestones.
Steph Curry can’t be the All-Star caliber player he is today without the help of his teammates, which leads us to the point of this article. Three key members of the Golden State Warriors NOT named Stephen Curry are approaching substantial career milestones, all of which are either likely or possible to occur in the 2014-15 campaign.
A rebound-focused power forward who can score efficiently from a limited area on the court, David Lee has met all expectations that the Warriors had for him when he arrived. He now provides veteran leadership and will eventually see his minutes drop as Draymond Green improves.
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes points out that the Golden State Warriors may be looking to transition to more of a stretch forward to accomodate head coach Steve Kerr’s offensive system. Until then, Lee will continue to take the floor and post solid numbers on both ends of the court. Last season, Lee averaged 18.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. His defense will always come into question from the tougher crowd, as his rim protection as a power forward is virtually non-existent.
David Lee is approaching a statistical milestone that he’s sure to be requesting the game ball for. Currently at 9,841 career points, Lee is just 159 away from the 10,000-mark. Based on his fairly consistent scoring output of 18 points per game, I would imagine he hits this milestone roughly nine to ten games into the season.
This will put him in a class of NBA scorers like LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, Tayshaun Prince and other guys who have been relied on as the primary scorer for their team. Since taking on a starting role back in 2008, Lee has averaged between 16 and 20 points per game each season. A model of consistency, the 31-year-old forward should still have a solid three to four years of good production ahead.
Andre Iguodala has made a name for himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, as well as a “do-it-all” type of guy that NBA teams would kill to have. For his career, Iggy has averaged 14.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. That statline would lead one to believe he’s no stranger to hitting milestones.
Having just hit 11,000 points last season, Iggy finds himself with 3,687 career assists; 313 shy of the 4,000 mark. This could be a tough one to claim as likely to occur in 2014-15. Seven out of his eight seasons in the NBA, Iggy notched a higher assist total than 313 but last year with the Dubs he finished with 263 — his lowest total since his rookie year in Philadelphia.
The drop in his assists is easily explainable, having played last season in an isolation-based offense with an All-Star caliber point guard in Stephen Curry handling the passing. New head coach Steve Kerr also hinted that he would possibly bring Iguodala off the bench in certain situations this coming season. Kerr’s more complex offense will give Iggy a shot at this milestone, but I wouldn’t exactly bank on it.
This is an impressive milestone to say the least; it will put him in the 4,000 assist club alongside non-point guards like Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade and Vince Carter. If I had to predict it, I would guess Iguodala hits the 4,000 assist mark during the Dub’s 2014-15 NBA playoff run.
This last Golden State Warriors milestone is my personal favorite of the three, mostly because it involves a guy who hasn’t played a full season’s worth of games since the 2007-08 season.
I don’t think I need to give any bigger hint.
Andrew Bogut, entering his third season with the Golden State Warriors, has dealt with a list of injuries that has kept him from truly living up to his first overall draft selection in the 2005 NBA Draft.
He’s posted respectable numbers in his very limited time on the floor, with a career average of 11.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He’s managed to make 507 game appearances over nine seasons in the NBA. Compare that to the next big man selected in the 2005 draft, Marvin Williams has appeared in 626 games; almost a season and a half worth of games more than Bogut.
Bogut currently stands at 4,726 career rebounds, putting him just 274 shy of 5,000. As long as he stays on the court for even half of the 2014-15 campaign, this milestone should be well within his reach. Last season in 67 games, he averaged a clean 10 rebounds per game.
If he stays healthy, he could potentially hit the 5,000-rebound mark towards the end of December, possibly beginning of January. Best-case scenario, he hits it on Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Clippers. Fingers crossed that he stays on the floor.