Warriors: The 5 keys to their record-breaking 16-0 start

Incredible defensive versatility

For a start, the Warriors have two centers who are almost interchangeable when it comes to their interior defensive presence. All-Defensive second team member Andrew Bogut is the first choice of course, but Festus Ezeli has emerged as a highly capable backup and energizer off the bench.

When their Australian center was injured during the beginning of this season, Ezeli stepped up into a starting role as if it was nothing. He was rebounding at an excellent rate, rotating well inside the paint on defense, aware on switches, and making blocking Blake Griffin dunk attempts look easy. Ezeli’s 11 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 2.9 blocks per 36 minutes are a good indicator of his impact, and furthermore it reassures the Warriors that if Bogut is injured again, they have someone to take over throughout this long season.

As for some more obvious versatility, it’s the way the Warriors can switch to a small ball lineup and be just as effective defensively that’s scary for their opponents. When Draymond Green moves over to center and Harrison Barnes operates at power forward, they can still smother everyone on defense. In fact, that duo actually has the second best point differential per 100 possessions (+22) of any two-man combination the Warriors have used this season.

We know Green can play at either the four or five, but the versatility of Barnes is often overlooked. He’s only spent 50 percent of his minutes at small forward this season, with 32 percent at power forward and even 18 percent at center. He’s a key component to the Warriors even being able to run small ball lineups with so much success, and his speed and explosiveness adds so much to their play in transition.

For instance, he can use his hustle and athleticism to pull off plays like this:

Both Ezeli and Bogut serve as great rim protectors and control the paint, and that’s the job for centers on defense. So, when switching to two smaller frontcourt players, that interior presence is often lost for most teams. However, Barnes and Green force players to shoot 4.9 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively, worse than normal within six feet.

That kind of play in the paint is what allows their small ball rotation to hold its own on defense rather than just being used to jack up threes.

Regardless of how they play defense, they can still shut opponents down to give their offense as many possessions and fast break opportunities as possible.

Next: The overshadowed emergence of Harrison Barnes