Many pundits, me included, heralded the demise of the Golden State Warriors during the 2023 playoffs as the Los Angeles Lakers manhandled the ageing Warriors during the Western Conference semifinals. In the 2024 playoffs, the Warriors were eliminated in the Playoff Tournament by the Sacramento Kings poised to become another has-been team trying to keep their glory days alive.
At that time, the Warriors core of Steph Curry (36), Klay Thompson (34) and Draymond Green (34) were showing signs of rust not to mention the wear and tear of various injuries from years past. They were shadows of their former selves, a few years removed from dominating the league and numerous trips to the NBA Finals.
In the offseason, the Warriors did the unthinkable, they traded away the other half of the Splash Brothers and acquired two role players with the intention of replacing Thompson's shooting and perimeter defense. The Thompson trade freed up some cash to acquire another perimeter defender De'Anthony Melton from free agency.
With stalwarts Green, Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, and Moses Moody, the Warriors were suddenly one of the deepest teams in the NBA and fearsome too with a plethora of shutdown defenders.
This has translated to the Warriors becoming one of the best defensive teams in the league allowing only 108 points per 100 possessions, good for fourth in the NBA. The team is also in the top five in defensive stats namely steals, deflections, charges drawn and rebounds, wreaking havoc on opposing teams' offensive sets.
This can be attributed to the arrival of coach Jerry Stackhouse who has cranked up the defense, ensured crisp rotations and help defense to close any holes before offenses can exploit them. They concede nothing. Beat one Warriors player and you have more lengthy and athletic players taking their place. The Warriors have six players ranging from 6-6 to 6-9 who can defend multiple positions making it difficult for opposing team to hunt mismatches.
The Warriors are forcing turnovers on 16% of opposing teams' offensive possessions leading to easy fastbreak points. The team is averaging a third-best 121.2 points per game.
Their depth has also allowed Steve Kerr to rest his starters. Curry is averaging a career-low 29.1 minutes per game. Green is averaging 27.5 minutes. The low usage rate protects his superstar from injuries.
Kerr is also going ten-deep each game day which ensures "fresh legs" for their defensive sets.
The Warriors' bench players have taken advantage of their prolonged playing time. The team has a league leading 58 points per game produced off the bench.
The offense is balanced with five players averaging in double digits while the next four in the rotation are averaging eight to nine points.
The new-look Warriors are sporting a 9-2 record, just a few games behind Conference leader Oklahoma City Thunder (11-2). This is something that nobody predicted even when the Warriors finalized their roster going into the new season.
If they keep up this pace and remain at the top of the standings throughout the season, the Warriors are a threat to any team. They are once again contenders.