Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Spurs

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(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

2. Clearly, it was an effort thing

Kerr’s minute distribution was clever, but it does not explain most of what we saw from Golden State’s defense in Game 1. That’s because the Warriors’ most important defensive players all played the same amount as they normally do, and were all better than they’ve been in quite some time.

Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green all dealt with injuries down the stretch, and are asked to so much offensively without Curry that their waning effort was understandable.

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That does not mean it wasn’t worrisome. Injury and fatigue-related issues don’t just magically go away once the postseason starts. There were legitimate questions as to whether or not Green was still the same level defender he had been the previous three years, and whether Durant and Thompson could double as the team’s only real scoring threats and as defensive linchpins.

While the postseason grind is just beginning, the early results are in: These guys are fine.

Thompson not only played his typical lockdown one-on-one defense, but did things we are not used to seeing from him as a help defender. The inverse applies to Durant, who uncharacteristically finished with zero blocks but played the most fundamentally sound perimeter defense he has all season. And there was Green, who was the best defensive player on the floor by far after a year of being the best by a slimmer margin.

The offense was good, but not great. It won’t be until Curry comes back. What Thompson, Durant and Green reminded us of in Game 1 is that the Warriors can still be a dominant team without a dominant offense. And therefore, without Curry.

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