Golden State Warriors: Spurs game brought the best out of the Dubs

Thursday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs brought the best out of the Golden State Warriors. For the first time all season, the Warriors actually looked like the team we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons.

The Golden State Warriors haven’t been at their best this season. Heading into the game against the San Antonio Spurs, the team had a 5-3 record. For most teams, that would be cause for celebration. For the Dubs, however, their expectations were set at 8-0.

So, there was automatically a lot riding on Thursday night’s game. The Warriors were preparing to face a strong challenge against a fellow Western Conference powerhouse in the Spurs. This is a matchup that looks destined to be repeated beyond the four regular season games these teams will play against each other, when the postseason begins. The Dubs needed to roll into San Antonio and leave with a win.

They did just that. It wasn’t an easy win, by any means. The Warriors were down 19 early on, after the Spurs came out firing in the first quarter. It looked like it was going to be another subpar game for the Dubs, who have started the season quite cold.

But, then a switch was flicked. The team started to rally late in the first quarter.  They carried this form right throughout the rest off the game, never easing off the pedal. Stephen Curry was nailing shots, Klay Thompson was everywhere, Kevin Durant further stated his early case for Defensive Player of the Year honors, and Draymond Green was his reliable self.

The Warriors are back

This was the Warriors team we have come to know (and love) over the past three seasons. The stars of the team aligned and produced their magic, and the reliable bench came on and consolidated the effort. It was textbook Warriors basketball, and it was damn fun to watch.

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That’s not to say, however, that they played perfectly. Being down by 19 early on is always a worry, but, it shouldn’t happen too often so that isn’t a big point of concern. The big concern is the 14 turnovers. The Dubs do play a high tempo game, and with that, turnovers will happen. Fourteen is a very high amount though, and if the Spurs hadn’t slowed down, this game could’ve gotten ugly.

However, if the Warriors shoot how they did Thursday night, they should be able to salvage any high-turnover game. The team shot 51.8 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range, and 75 percent from the line.

This is what Warriors basketball truly is. We’ve seen flashes of it throughout the start of this season. It was on show in the blowout win against the Dallas Mavericks. But, the Warriors proved, against tough competition, that they’re as good as ever. Perhaps even better than ever.

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After being down early, the Warriors switched on. They’ve failed to do that in the early goings of this season. However, this game brought the best out of the Dubs. That’s two wins in a row now for the team. Hopefully they’ve turned a corner and continue their winning ways.