Golden State Warriors: Cavs Provide A Real Test

In an 82-game season, it’s easy to sweep one loss under the rug. But for a team with only 10 losses on the season like the Golden State Warriors, high-profile matchups like tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers represent an important opportunity for self-evaluation.

The last time the Dubs faced a true challenge at full strength was against the East-leading Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 6. In that battle between the two best records in the NBA, the Warriors fell short, 124-116.

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The last time the Dubs faced any sort of adversity was last Sunday, when they were missing Stephen Curry and lost to the lowly Indiana Pacers, 104-98.

The point is, the biggest “challenges” the Warriors have conquered in the past few weeks amounted to wins over struggling teams like the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. The last time Golden State faced a true test and actually conquered it was on Jan. 21 against the Houston Rockets.

The mark of being a good team is beating teams you’re supposed to beat. But the mark of a great team is stepping up and beating other good teams in the spotlight, which is why this game against Cleveland is so important — even if the Warriors’ season-long numbers are still fantastic.

Warriors are 33-3 when starting five is Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut.
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) February 25, 2015

Nobody’s questioning whether the Golden State Warriors are a great team, because they are. But tonight’s litmus test against a Cavs team that’s won 17 of its last 19 games will go a long way in helping remind everyone who the league’s alpha dog really is…and telling us whether or not Golden State’s up-and-down play over the last few weeks is a cause for concern.

By comparison to Cleveland’s 17-2 mark over the last few weeks, the Dubs have gone 14-5 in their last 19 games. So even though the Dubs have continued to beat most of the teams they should, they haven’t been the world-dominating juggernauts we saw to start the season either.

Since the All-Star break, the Warriors have posted a defensive rating of 103.3 points per 100 possessions — a bottom-10 mark during that time, per NBA.com. They’ve also allowed 49.8 percent shooting to their opponents in that span, the third worst figure in the NBA.

Perhaps that’s a small sample size, but those numbers don’t look that much better for the entire month of February either. In tonight’s potential NBA Finals matchup, a victory would go a long way helping the Dubs build some momentum for the home stretch of the season.

The Golden State Warriors still have a league-best 24-2 home record. They still have the best point differential in the NBA at +10.6. They’re elite by every statistical measuring stick you can think of. But it’s been about five weeks since they’ve been challenged and came out on top. What better opportunity than a road test at Quicken Loans Arena?

Klay Thompson is shooting a meager 40.8 percent from the field for the month of February. Steph Curry has done his part to carry the load, averaging 28 points, 6.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game for the month, but he can’t do it alone.

Draymond Green‘s scoring has steadily snowballed downhill, David Lee is struggling to make an impact off the bench as his minutes decline and Marreese Speights has had his share of offensive problems as well.

In fact, head coach Steve Kerr has begun to ride his starters a little bit more to try and counteract the team’s recent up-and-down play, which could have negative consequences come playoff time if it continues. If Golden State’s bench can prove they deserve more minutes, and if the Dubs can find their balance once again, they’ll go back to being the overwhelming favorites to emerge from the West.

That journey starts tonight against LeBron James and the streaking Cavaliers in one of the most important games of the season.

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