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The Golden State Warriors are off to a phenomenal start to
the season, the type of start that has rarely been seen in NBA history. In addition to having won their last 16
games in a row, the Warriors own the NBA’s best record at 21-2 (good for a . 913
win percentage).
Coming into the season the Warriors were projected to be a
fan favorite, with their high-octane offence led by Splash Brothers Klay
Thompson and Steph Curry, and a revamped offense and defense under the guidance
of new head coach Steve Kerr. While
they were expected to be competitive in an incredibly deep Western Conference
that saw the eighth seed win 49 (of 82) games during the regular season last
year, nobody expected this start from the Warriors—or any other team for that
matter.
So how good are they?
Does their record lie? Do
the stats support what the Warriors are doing? As we near tip-off for the Warriors’ matchup with the second-best-team-in-the-NBA
Memphis Grizzlies (19-4 record), let’s take a deeper look and find out just how
good these Warriors actually are 23 games into the regular season…
Offense
- The Warriors are leading the NBA in Field Goal Percentage at a whopping 48.2% from the field. By comparison, the league average is 45.1% from the field.
- The Warriors average the second-most points per game in the NBA at 107.6 points per contest.
- The Warriors are the least-blocked team in the league. They may miss 51.8% of the shots they take, but it is not because the other team is swatting them away.
- The Warriors have the seventh-best offensive rating in the NBA.
- The Warriors are the fifth-most efficient offensive team in the NBA.
- The Warriors have the second best
pace in the NBA, meaning they average the second-most possessions per 48 minutes (the length of a regulation NBA game). When you have the most possessions and lead the league in field goal percentage, you are going to score a lot of points (see above points per game statistic).
- Unsurprisingly, and befitting of their “Splash Brothers”
nickname, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have combined for the most
three-pointers out of any
in the NBA.backcourt
- The Warriors were always thought to be an offensively gifted team under Marc Jackson because of their talent. However, metrics and statistics show that the offense was often stagnant and not very efficient over the past few years. The Warriors hit three pointers and were exciting on offense, but they didn’t move the ball well or execute to their potential. Under Steve Kerr, the Warriors have actually become the offense every casual NBA fan thought they were over the past two seasons.
Defense
- The Warriors have the best
def ensive rating in the NBA, meaning they allow the fewest points in the NBA per 100 possessions.
- The Warriors
also ha ve the best defensive efficiency ranking in the NBA. (The Warriors were third in this category last season. In addition to improving offensively, they have continued to work on and improve the defensive feats they accomplished under Marc Jackson).
- The Warriors allow the seventh-fewest points per game in the NBA, holding opponents to 96.8 points per game. The league average is 100.
- The Warriors have the best opponent field goal percentage in the NBA, holding their opponents to a measly 41.1% shooting per game. The league average is 45.1%.
- The Warriors lead the league in blocked shots
at just over 6.5 blocks per game. The league average is 4.75 blocks per game.
- In 23 games, the Warriors have not allowed an opponent to shoot 50% from the field a single time. Because it’s worth repeating: no team has hit half of its shots against the Warriors in a game yet this season.
Overall (Offense + Defense)
- The Warriors are one of two teams—with the Memphis Grizzlies
squad they face in
primetime this evening being the other—to rank in the top-25% of the NBA in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
- The Warriors have a point differential or margin of victory (points per
game for the Warriors minus points per game
for their opponents) of 10.78. This means that on average, they win by double-digits. This is the best point differential in the NBA by far. The next best belongs to the Toronto Raptors—currently the top-team in the Eastern Conference with a 19-6 record—who post a differential of 8.28 points.
The Streak
Coming into this season, the Warriors’ franchise record
winning streak was 11 games in the 1971-1972 season, ultimately snapped by the
Chicago Bulls. The Warriors set a
franchise-record by defeating the Bulls in Chicago this season to extend their
winning streak to 12 games, on December 6th . Since then, the Warriors are 4-0, and
have extended the win streak to 16 games.
The last three wins came against the Houston Rockets in
Oakland, the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, and the New Orleans Pelicans in New
Orleans. While the Rockets were missing
All-Star big man Dwight Howard, the Warriors were also missing star big man and
defensive stud Andrew Bogut. The
game was close until late in the fourth quarter, when the Warriors blew it open
on the offensive end—and continued their strong defensive play—with a 17-3 run
that saw the Warriors score on nine-straight possessions. The Warriors won 105-93, holding the
Rockets well under their season average of 99.6 points per game, while scoring
10 points more than what the Rockets allow on average.
Against the Mavericks, the Warriors used a 39-18 first
quarter to blow the game open.
While the Mavericks fought hard in the second half and closed the gap to
seven within the waning minutes of the game, the Warriors—still without Bogut—held
on to win 105-98, again holding their opponent under the century mark while
topping it themselves.
On Sunday the Warriors had a “trap game” (a game that seems
easy on paper and is easy to overlook, but easily could have caught them by
surprise and ended the streak). They
faced a .500 New Orleans squad playing without its star player—and the only
person leading Steph Curry in the early MVP race—Anthony Davis. It was also the second day of the road back-to-back
that began in Dallas against the tough Mavericks team that fought until the
end. The Warriors easily could
have acted tired and overlooked the Pelicans en route to a New Orleans
win. However, they came from six
down in the final minutes to force overtime and blitz the Pelicans in overtime
en route to a 128-122 win. While
it was not an offensively efficient game with the Warriors committing 19
turnovers, or a good defensive win with the Warriors giving up 122 points, they
fought hard and willed themselves to victory to keep the streak alive.
Historically Good
It is not often in the NBA that a 16-game winning streak is
overlooked. After all, the
Warriors are now tied for the 20th -longest winning streak in NBA
history. If you take out the teams
that played fewer than 82 games in a season, only 21 teams in league history
have won as many games in a row as the Warriors, and only 14 teams have longer
winning streaks. And yet, the
streak is an afterthought because the Warriors have been that good, overall.
Al Cervi of the Syracuse Nationals had the record for the best
start to a coaching career in NBA history with an 18-2 record in the 1949-1950
season. Steve Kerr tied the record
against the Timberwolves, broke it against the Rockets, and has extended it
against Dallas and New Orleans since then. The Warriors record now stands at 21-2. The Warriors are the twelfth team in
NBA History to start 20-2 or better.
Only seven teams in NBA History (including the Warriors) have started a
season 21-2. Win tonight and the
numbers become even gaudier.
But How Good is This
Team Really?
Six out of the 11 teams to start a season 20-2 in the past
won NBA Titles. Additionally, the
Warriors have the 17th best point differential through 23 games in
NBA History. Seven of the previous
16 teams to do it won the NBA Title that season.
Does this mean the Warriors are going to win the NBA
Title? Definitely not. While it is obviously the hope of all
Warriors fans, they play in the toughest conference and one of the tougher
divisions in basketball. Will they
continue this pace and break the Bulls’ all-time great record of 72-10? It is possible, but again, most-likely
not. However, they have definitely
positioned themselves to contend in the West this year.
The Warriors won 51 games last season. They only need to go 30-29 the rest of
the way (a paltry . 508 win percentage) to equal last season’s total. Additionally, they only need to go
39-20 (a . 661 win percentage) the rest of the way to finish with an all-time
franchise-high 60 wins, while a 41-18 finish to the season (a . 694 win
percentage) will give them the same record as the reigning NBA Champion San
Antonio Spurs had when they finished with the best record in the NBA last year.
There is no question that the Warriors’ schedule will get
tougher from here. After Memphis
tonight they face the streaking-now-that-they-are-healthy Oklahoma City
Thunder, followed by a game at the Clippers next week. The Warriors opponents through the first
23 games of the season had a combined win percentage of . 496 (14th
in the NBA). This will increase as
they play the aforementioned tougher competition and continue to play teams
from the Western Conference. They
also need to stay healthy, and injuries have begun to pile up. Having said all of that, the Warriors
have played the third-most road games in the NBA thus far this season, meaning
they can look forward to a bevy of games at Oracle Arena in the future.
Bottom Line
The Warriors were projected to be exciting, with a superstar
in Steph Curry, a fiery rookie head coach, and a supporting cast including star
Klay Thompson. Curry has grown to
new heights, Thompson is playing like a superstar and justifying the big payday
he received before the beginning of the season, Draymond Green has emerged as a
star—and they’ve done all of this without All-Star David Lee who is nursing a
hamstring injury. While it is
close to a given that the Warriors will not stay on this pace and win over 91%
of their games this season, they have emerged as true contenders who can size
up—and defeat—any team in the NBA. While historical and modern perspective shows that the
Warriors record may be bloated, they are by far the best team in the NBA at
this point, and there is no reason why that cannot continue for the rest of the
season.
The first step:
beating the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis tonight to have the best win of
the young NBA season, and extend the franchise-best, historical win streak and
start to 17 games and a 22-2 record, respectively. Hey, “It Could Happen.”