The Golden State Warriors entered the season with sizable expectations, particularly after the late offseason addition of Al Horford and the return of Jonathan Kuminga. After all, the Warriors finished last season on a tear after adding Jimmy Butler, and the legendary duo of Steph Curry and Draymond Green was back for another run. The Warriors stumbled a bit out of the gate, however, posting an unsightly 9-12 record over a 21-game period after a 2-0 start. Lately, however, the Warriors are playing better basketball and, despite a modest 13-12 record, there is optimism buzzing around San Francisco.
Golden State has long been associated with offensive prowess, headlined by the history-making career of Steph Curry. However, the Warriors' path to success this season may just be outlined by a top-tier defense and just enough offense.
In fact, the Warriors currently sit in a tie (as of Dec. 11) for the second-best defensive efficiency in the NBA, allowing only 110.7 points per 100 possessions. The only team ahead of Golden State in that comprehensive defensive metric is the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder and, well, that team is a juggernaut all its own. The Warriors have also leaned even more heavily on their defense in recent days, with head coach Steve Kerr recently discussing that uptick in production.
“We’re taking away some of the easy stuff. Some of that is taking better care of the ball,” Kerr said, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “When you’re in control of the game, you just feel like your defense is set up. Overall, we’re doing a better job containing dribble penetration and just helping each other and playing with a lot of energy.”
The Warriors are winning with defense
Over the last seven games, the Warriors are yielding fewer than 1.07 points per possession, and Golden State has given up 1.02 points per possession or fewer in four of the last five outings. Those numbers will likely level off at some point, but Golden State does have reason to believe its defense is capable of lofty performance.
The return of De'Anthony Melton, who has now played in two games, is potentially transformational for Golden State's defense. Melton is, by no means, an overly dangerous offensive player, but he has a significant defensive pedigree and fits well with what Golden State would like to do on the defensive end of the floor. Beyond that, two of Golden State's top three players have a clear defensive bent, and the numbers are highly encouraging.
In 421 minutes with Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler on the floor together, the Warriors boast a defensive rating of 105.4 that should be qualified as elite in any context. That pairing does have some offensive limitations but, when surrounded with other competent defenders, Green and Butler have proven to be ceiling-raisers, both on their own and collectively.
Stephen Curry is the other top-tier player for Golden State and, while he does not have a defense-first pedigree, the Warriors have been consistently able to build quality defenses, even when Curry is on the floor. He raises the ceiling of the offense in an almost indescribable way, and it is also worth noting amid Golden State's 13-12 record that Curry has missed nine games. The future Hall of Fame guard is reportedly on track to return soon after not playing in a game since Nov. 26.
All in all, the Warriors need Curry to push their offense to the area it needs to be to become a full-fledged contender. That is not really debatable, and there is a long-term track record of Golden State's offense flailing without him. In the end, though, the clearest pathway to top-tier success could be buoyed by the defense with just enough from Curry and the offense to push the overall product over the line.