Golden State Warriors: 5 Areas That Need Attention Before The Playoffs

5. Get Healthy

Let’s get the most obvious and important one out of the way first: The Golden State Warriors are invincible when they’re at full strength. With Andrew Bogut (toe), Andre Iguodala (ankle) and Festus Ezeli (knee) all banged up at the moment, the Dubs have been missing their starting center, super sixth man and underrated backup center.

Bogut has missed the team’s last two games (including the Spurs loss) but should be back soon. Iguodala has been sidelined for nine of Golden State’s 12 games in March thus far, and is still a few days away from being re-evaluatated as the Warriors take the cautious approach. Ezeli has been out since Jan. 25 (missing 25 games) and though he’s making progress toward returning, he’s still not back yet.

That has left Steve Kerr with few options other than running his core players into the ground — something the Dubs have actively avoided, even in their pursuit of 73 wins, since a championship is the ultimate goal. That has meant more minutes for Anderson Varejao, Ian Clark and James Michael McAdoo than anyone would prefer, with all three being borderline unplayable lately.

That’s not an exaggeration either. Since the All-Star Break, Clark has posted a horrendous net rating of -22.4, McAdoo has been right there with him at -21.4 and Wild Thing is at -6.9. Those are disastrous numbers, especially upon realizing their complete inability to protect leads has forced the starters to play more minutes than necessary to close out games that should be blowouts.

Brandon Rush has been efficient in spots, shooting 42 percent from three-point range on the season, but the increased workload has taken its toll on him as well. He’s posted a -9.7 net rating since the All-Star Break, and those horrendous net ratings look even worse considering none of those players plays more than 14.8 minutes per game.

Against San Antonio, Golden State missed Bogut’s inside presence, losing the rebound battle by 16 and missing his passing on the perimeter. Iggy is a stabilizing presence off the bench who kills teams with his cutting and distribution in transition, something the Warriors could’ve really used over the last few weeks, and Ezeli is a mobile, shot-blocking big who prevents Varejao from seeing action.

It’s actually kind of ludicrous this team has continued winning so many games without their two main centers and sixth man, but that won’t continue in the playoffs if so many crucial players are banged up. For the Warriors to revert back to Starkiller Base mode, they’ll need those three key players back in the lineup with the rust shaken off by the time the playoffs begin.

Next: No. 4