Golden State Warriors: 10 Steps To Winning A Championship

1. Prizing And Utilizing Versatility

When the Golden State Warriors assembled their roster for the 2014-15 season, they knew they had two dynamic three-point shooters in place. They knew they had a defensive anchor in Andrew Bogut, provided he could stay healthy for the playoffs. But most importantly, they realized that bolstering the depth of this team was incredibly important.

Whether that depth going hand-in-hand with versatility was planned is irrelevant; all that matters is when you look at the number of guard-forward hybrids on this team, it’s hard to ignore that so many of Golden State’s defensive lineups became amoebic in nature.

Klay Thompson was capable of playing the 2 or the 3. Barnes could play the 2, 3 or 4. Draymond Green could play the 2, 3, 4 OR 5. Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala logged time at positions 1-4. Even Leandro Barbosa was capable of playing multiple positions depending on the lineup.

With so many lengthy, defensively oriented combo players, the Warriors were capable of adjusting to any lineup on one end, push the tempo in between and create a ton of mismatches on the other end with penetration, perimeter shooting and speed.

What we saw all season long indicated that the Golden State Warriors were a team capable of changing the course and culture of the NBA, but the fact that the turning point of this championship series was Steve Kerr going to the small-ball lineup speaks volumes about the direction this league is heading in the pace-and-space era.

In short, the Golden State Warriors are the culmination of the Seven Seconds Or Less Phoenix Suns. They are vindication for Mike D’Antoni‘s revolutionary style of play. They are living proof that you can win a championship by emphasizing an up-tempo pace and three-point shooting.

Two-way versatility is at an all-time premium now. Teams will be looking for the next Draymond Green who can defend multiple positions while spreading the floor with a respectable three-point shot. Teams will be looking for the next Stephen Curry who can create off the bounce and shoot the lights out from downtown. And teams will be looking for the next Andrew Iguodala who can defend and become a glue guy/point forward that can do it all.

Before this series, analytics and old school purists were at odds about what it takes to win a title. Analysts like Charles Barkley have clung to the notion that teams need an interior scoring threat to win a championship, and even though the league has been heading in a different direction for quite some time, basketball and stat junkies haven’t been able to point to any team as an example that indicate otherwise.

Jump shooting teams can’t win a championship. You need a game-changing presence down low. Live by the three, die by the three. We’ve heard all the tropes before, so even though the Warriors weren’t completely a jump-shooting team, Golden State was able to finally establish that all those cliches are outdated.

The NBA is heading in a new direction. LeBron James had to resort to iso-ball to carry his shorthanded Cavaliers, and for a while, it looked like this out-of-character playing style would actually win the day and allow Barkley free reign to continue bashing analytics and the value of three-point shooting.

Live Feed

Blue Man Hoop

But in the end, it was completely fitting that the Warriors used their small-ball lineups and three-point shooting barrage to beat out hero ball. Yes, LeBron James had nowhere near enough help and yes, this series would’ve been different with a healthy Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

However, with Love and Irving, the Cavaliers had a heavy three-point shooting attack as well, and their high scoring offense was never based on hero ball until Cleveland had to resort to that playing style with both All-Stars were injured. In fact, Cleveland’s offense was predicated on pace-and-space as well.

But at the end of the day, the Golden State Warriors are the 2015 NBA champions and what’s frightening is Curry (27), Thompson (25), Barnes (23), Green (25) and Ezeli (25) are still incredibly young.

This could be the beginning of a Western Conference dynasty, but even if it’s not, this elite Warriors team will go down as one of the greatest championship teams in league history — one that other teams will be trying to model themselves after, and one that could influence the ever-changing landscape of the NBA.

Next: 2015 NBA Finals: Game 6 Recap

More from Hoops Habit

• The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout