How The New Look Warriors Are Dominating The NBA...

The Golden State Warriors are 7-2 and look dominant. Outside of that terrible Cavs game, they've destroyed most teams in their path. After the loss of Klay Thompson, the Warriors have revolutionized their depth options holding a 12-man rotation full of great players. Compared to last season, the team's coaching has been revitalized as they are top of the league in most defensive and offensive categories. The Warriors have found their identity with strength in numbers and are looking to make a playoff push. But this only works with one player, named Steph Curry. Steph is the greatest point guard of all time in the back end of his career. He's still playing at an all-time great level. Steph sprained his ankle in the third game of the season and just returned this past week against the Wizards. In his short minutes, he scored 24 points and had 6 assists. His biggest game came against the Celtics where he put up 27 points in TD Garden, leading the Warriors to a big road win. Steph hasn't had to do much this season as the Warriors have blown out most teams they've faced. There have only been 4 games on the Warriors schedule where it ended in single digits or they lost, which is insane. With Steph's absence, the one doing the heavy lifting offensively for this team has been Buddy Heald. Buddy is playing the best he's ever played in the NBA. There's this cycle with Buddy where most fan bases see he plays very well to start the season then falls off and out of favor with the coaches and eventually leaves the team. But with the Warriors, it seems this cycle is dead and all he does is ball out. He's currently averaging 19 points per game on 50% from 3 so far. He's basically replicated prime Klay Thompson, which sort of makes sense with the way Steve Kerr is using him, moving Buddy off the ball and giving him a screen everywhere he goes to make sure he's seeing an open shot. For example, in this play, Buddy is off ball and runs towards the Looney screen. He receives the pass from pods, leaving Looney's defender unprepared for an open 3 point shot. These are the scenarios where he's shot his best this season. 40% of his total jump shots are from 3 in catch and shoot scenarios, where he makes 60% of these catch and shoot 3s. It's unbelievable how seamlessly he's fit in with this team. Another good example of how well he's fit in with his off ball movement is this clip vs the Jazz. Buddy points to the top of the key, acting like they are setting up an action for Kaminga to pass into, but then quickly fills into the corner as both defenders stick with Kaminga and he's left for an open 3 point shot. The hope for the Warriors is Buddy can keep this up and become the 6th man of the year, averaging 16-18 points per game over an 82 game stretch. The coaching this season has been phenomenal for the Golden State Warriors. Steve Kerr has reinvented himself with new additions to the bench staff in Terry Stotts and Gary Stackhouse. The Warriors are top 3 in offensive rating and top 2 in defensive rating. A Warriors offense has always been strong, but the defense has fallen off in recent years. To see their success on the defensive end, you can look towards defensive coach Gary Stackhouse and his ideology as the change the Warriors needed to be a top defense. He has led the Warriors to be an active defense, allowing the 2nd least fast break points in the NBA compared to last year where they ranked 20th in fast break points allowed. Another huge statistic is their deflections. They are 2nd in the NBA in deflections per game at 21.3, which far surpasses even the 3rd ranked team by at least 4 whole deflections a game. This stat is important to show the Warriors are an active defense who are sitting in the passing lanes of every offense ready to intercept a pass or disrupt a play. They are ready for anything the offense is about to do. It's why they are in the top 10 in steals per game. Not only have their active hands been a strong point of this defense, but their ability to defend the 3 has improved. The most important shot in modern basketball has been shut down by the Warriors defense so far this season. Last year they were 11th in 3 point percentage allowed at 35%, and now this year they have lowered that by 5% limiting teams to 30% shooting from 3. Their ability to slow that shot has been one of the biggest reasons why they are a top 2 defense in the NBA. Now to talk about the ringleader of that defense on the court, Draymond Green. Draymond Green has been his absolute best to start this season. He has consistently clamped up the opposing team's best player. For example, against the Pelicans he limited Zion to 5 of 20 and 12 points. He hounded him and made every shot extremely difficult for Zion. For example, in this play Draymond puts in a great contest losing the rebound but blocks Zion from behind to deny any easy points. Or in this play with Draymond in the post with Zion, he tries to put a move on Dray but can't move him from his spot. Zion tries to go up and Draymond gives him a great contest making Zion throw the ball out of bounds. Draymond Green is a leader on the defensive end and makes sure his troops are prepared to dominate the opposing offense. Now to discuss someone who has returned to form compared to his 2023 campaign. Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins has found himself this season, becoming the best himself that we saw in 2022. Wiggins is averaging 15 points per game with 4 rebounds per game on 40% shooting from 3. He's found his offensive level to start the season. Last year he averaged a career low in points per game at 13 and shot 35% from 3 which is his lowest mark since becoming a warrior. It's great to see the turnaround for Wiggins after struggling for most of last season. What has also been impressive is how good his defense has been again. He's returned to locking people up on Wiggins Island. In the game against the Celtics Wiggins held Jason Tatum to 3 of 8 from the field and forced him to commit 3 turnovers. A good highlight of his elite defense is this play where Wiggins fights over the screen and gets back on Tatum to stop his dribble and cause him to lose control of the ball where Steph can get an easy steal. Another instance of his great defense on Tatum is in this play where Wiggins stops Tatum's attempt at a drive forcing him into a step back deep mid range shot and gets a great contest in and forces the miss. Wiggins has been fantastic and at the level needed for the Warriors to compete for a top 6 seed. Juminga, the former 7th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft hasn't fully turned into the star the Warriors have hoped for. Last year he had a great stretch of games where he averaged around 20 points per game and looked amazing, but then cooled off later on in the season. So far this year he has been extremely poor for his expectations, averaging 14 points per game shooting 45% from the field, which for a guy in his 3rd season isn't enough. His defense hasn't evolved yet either. He has all the tools to be an elite defender but still looks lost at times. I believe in Juminga, he has what the Warriors need as a guy who can get to the rim with ease or force free throws. He has been great at drawing fouls, averaging 2.6 fouls drawn per game which makes up 30% of the team's fouls. Unfortunately, he is only shooting 65% from the free throw line so he hasn't been able to capitalize on these free points. Hopefully, Juminga can find his rhythm with the starters and find his moments to get his offensive game going. The Warriors are the deepest team in the NBA. They have been running a 12-man rotation full of players who can come in and provide good minutes. Guys like Gary Payton, Moses Moody, DeAnthony Melton, and Brandon Pazemski are guards who come in and provide great defense and solid shooting. Pods in particular has been a machine at drawing charges, helping the Warriors be one of the top teams in the NBA in forcing turnovers through drawing charges. Not only the guards are solid but the backup centers and forwards have been great for this team. Looney and Trace Jackson Davis have been very good at the center position for this team. They are aggressive on the boards and have been providing very solid paint defense. TJD in particular can space the floor through his verticality and the threat of him catching a lob off the back of a defender. Kyle Anderson has been on a hot streak to start this year as if he can't miss. In the Celtics game he made 3 straight 3's to put the Warriors on top in the 2nd quarter. Overall I highlight these guys to say that the Warriors are extremely deep and have the numbers to deal with a rigorous regular season. The Warriors will continue their regular season dominance because of their strong defense and depth. I don't see this team slowing down at all and they are particularly built to win a lot of regular season games. As a Warrior fan I hope this team continues to be successful and win a lot of games for my sanity. I expect them to be within the top 6 seeds and most likely a top 4 seed with the start they've had so far. Let me know what you think of this Warriors team in the comments below and subscribe.