5 key stats that reveal Warriors strengths and weaknesses

Much to the surprise of many, the Golden State Warriors have been one of the best teams in the NBA over the first month of this 2024-25 campaign.

Even after falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, marking their third straight loss, the Dubs are 12-6 and sitting in third place in the Western Conference standings.

Despite the loss of Klay Thompson, Steve Kerr has arguably the deepest roster he's ever had, and the supporting cast surrounding franchise cornerstones Steph Curry and Draymond Green has flourished.

This Warriors team certainly isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but from an overall standpoint, there are far more positives than negatives. Golden State is scoring 116.8 points per game, the eighth-most in the league, while allowing 109.6, the seventh-fewest. So they're getting the job done on both ends of the floor.

Digging a little deeper, here's a look at a few stats highlighting what the Warriors are doing right and a few areas where they could stand to improve a touch.

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Strength: The Warriors rank in the top 10 in steals, blocks, turnovers, and points off turnovers

The easiest thing to do to kick things off would be to highlight how good the Warriors are from the three-point line, which has obviously long been a strength of this franchise.

And that continues to be a strength, as Golden State ranks fourth in three-pointers made per game (15.9) and eighth in three-point shooting percentage (37.7 percent), which is a nice combination.

Instead, though, we'll start with a little defense.

Through their first 17 games, the Warriors are averaging the ninth-most steals (9.1) per game, the eighth-most blocks (5.6), and have forced the ninth-most turnovers (14.7). So, while Curry and the offense are what sells tickets, this team plays plenty of defense.

And Golden State is taking advantage of these takeaways, averaging 19.6 points off turnovers, the fifth-most in the NBA.

Strength: Golden State leads the NBA in bench scoring with 52.7 points per game

As mentioned, this may be the deepest roster Kerr has ever had, and it's paying off as the Warriors easily lead the league in bench scoring at 52.0 points per game.

Buddy Hield, who was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the six-team trade that sent Thompson to Dallas, has been spectacular thus far, averaging 15.6 points in 23.7 minutes per game while shooting a career-high 46.5% from the floor and a career-best 44.1 percent from the three-point line.

Jonathan Kuminga was taken out of the starting lineup after three games but has played solidly off the bench, averaging 13.6 points. Moses Moody has chipped in with 8.2 points per game but will likely see his numbers rise with De'Anthony Melton out for the season.

With Curry averaging a career-low 29.7 minutes per game, Kerr has to feel great knowing he can give his superstar a rest and not lose much offensive production.

Strength: The Warriors rank second in assist percentage at 70.2 percent

The Warriors have long been known to make the extra pass, and they're continuing to do this season.

Of the 769 field goals they've made this season, 70.2 percent of them have come with an assist, good for the second-highest percentage in the league. Only the San Antonio Spurs are better in this department, with a 70.9 percent assist percentage.

Naturally, given the amount of turnovers they generate, the Warriors are among the league leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking seventh at 2.06.

Weakness: Golden State is allowing the eighth-most points in the fourth quarter at 29.5 per game

The Warriors' second-half defense has become a glaring issue as of late, as they blew a 17-point lead in a 104-94 loss to the Spurs this past Saturday and followed up by blowing an 18-point lead in a 128-120 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

The fourth quarter was especially difficult in those two games, as Golden State allowed 33 points in the final frame to San Antonio and a season-worst 41 to Brooklyn. They did improve against OKC on Wednesday, giving up just 21.

Overall, the Warriors have allowed 29.0 points per game in the fourth quarter, the eighth-most in the league. Taking every team's last three games into account, Golden State has allowed the third-most at 31.7. This needs to be nipped in the bud soon.

Weakness: The Warriors have the worst free-throw percentage in the NBA at 69.5 percent

The Warriors rank dead last in free-throw shooting at a dismal 69.6 percent.

The wild thing here is that Curry is shooting a career-best 95.8 percent from the stripe this season.

Pat Spencer has yet to miss a foul shot, but he's only taken two. Lindy Waters III has only missed one, but he's only attempted five. Hield is doing his job at 90.5%, but after him, it's Andrew Wiggins at 76.1 percent, and it only gets worse from there.

If the Warriors are going to put themselves in close-game situations by blowing leads, they need to at least be better from the foul line.