Writing about the Warriors has become an exercise in finding every way possible to say this team’s really really good. Similarly, this heavenly season has provided Dub Nation with some of the best retorts in sports. Let’s say a (temporary until the Lakers become good again) Clippers fan hates on our team. The top five responses Warriors fans can come back with are unparalleled.
- “I’m sure you’ve heard of that Michael Jordan guy. The Warriors have the best point differential since his best teams.”
- “Since we’ve got home court advantage throughout the playoffs, you’ll have to defeat us at least once in Oracle to win a playoff series against us. In related news, we’re 36 & 2 at home this season.”
- “Does Steph Curry play for your basketball team? Yes, that was rhetorical.”
- “I’m no statistician, but we have the NBA’s best offense and defense. Facts only.”
- “Mo Buckets!”
Better yet, last night Shaq opened TNT’s Inside the NBA with these two impeccable sentences in regards to the Patron Saint of Bay Area basketball Steph Curry…
“We might as well give him that MVP Trophy now. That boy is a bad mother shut your mouth.”
But, we’re Warriors fans. In other words we were raised on the concept of being inherently pessimistic about this game of participatory geometry we call basketball. As such, I’m going to go through the fears that consume the back of our minds as Warriors fans. Like my psychology professor probably taught me, it’s useful to acknowledge your concerns. The good news is, we’re not the Sacramento Kings fans (3 coaches, 3 front office leaders, and 1 wacky owner in less than 3 years), so our doubts are limited. In the name of pessimism, to our biggest worries:
1) Shooting Outside of the Splash
Contrary to public opinion, the Warriors aren’t bursting with verified floor-spacing shooters. Excluding the Splash Brothers the Warriors’ shooting consists of…
–Harrison Barnes, who excluding the right corner 3 is shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc. That’s slightly below the league average of 35% and is lower than noted non-shooters Gerald Green and Devin Harris. If a team denies HB his beloved right corner 3, his three-point shooting essentially becomes a non-factor.
–Andre Iguodala, who a couple of months appeared opposed to shooting in general. Yet, the All-Star break did wonders for Iggy as his three-point shooting has gone from 33% before the break, to 39% since.
–Draymond Green, who for all his improvement from the land of plenty is still a below average three-point shooter at 33.9%. On the contrary, Draymond’s proven himself clutch year after year in the playoffs.
Perhaps the most nerve-racking part about all of this is, that’s all of the possible shooters. Livingston simply doesn’t shoot threes -he’s averaged two per season over his last 13 years- and it’s unlikely Holiday or Barbosa receive real playoff minutes. Therefore, it’s up to a one-spot shooter, a hesitant shooter, and a below average shooter to keep the offense spaced. That’s slightly worrying, but as this season has taught us, don’t bet against the heart of Dray and mind of Kerr.
2) The Silent Season Ender – Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard is the Pablo Sandoval of baseball -minus the beer belly. Every season begins with fans and analysts lauding his untapped potential and predicting a breakout season. He underperforms on the perhaps unrealistic expectations set before him, but comes up extremely clutch during the stretch run of the season and playoffs. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they’ll most likely meet the playoff version of Kawhi.
The top three in Real Plus-Minus (ESPN’s stat that adjusts a player’s plus-minus for the effects of each teammate, opposing player, and coach) are Harden, Curry, Kawhi. Over the last 15 games “the Claw” is 1st in steals, shooting 47.7% from three, and 0.1 from leading the league in plus-minus. He and Danny Green are perhaps the only duo in the league with a hope of guarding the Splash Brothers, and his versatility provides Popovich with an answer to the Warriors’ absolutely killer lineup of Draymond at center.
3) The Harrison Barnes Roller-Coaster
In his last ten games Harrison’s had four “he’s putting it all together!” games where he scored more than 12 points, and six “did Harrison play tonight?” games where he scored less than 7 games. Harrison’s like that girlfriend (or boyfriend) you want to really like, but they continue to frustrate you. Theoretically, he’s got it all: a body built for the league, one of the league’s best corner three point shots, athleticism worthy of the slam dunk content, a terrific nickname (The Black Falcon!), and the ability to slash off the ball. Yet, lately he’s been messing up defensive switches, become either on-or-off on offense, and warranted a quick trigger from Kerr.
We want so badly for Harrison to reach his potential. But, too often Harrison’s game is reminiscent of that phrase you hate to hear your parents say: “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed”.
4) The Best of the Rest of Our Concerns
- Lebron James. Grantland’s Bill Simmons had it right when he called Angelina Jolie Lebron’s sports doppelgänger, saying “Two physical specimens. They’ve risen to the top of their game, and now they think they can do more than play/act. Lebron thinks he’s a GM and she thinks she’s a director”. Outside of that being one of my favorite sports doppelgängers, Lebron’s still the best basketball player on the planet. On the bright side, if we have to worry about him it means we’re in the Finals!
- Deep playoff experience. Not since the 1994 Houston Rockets has a team reached the NBA Finals from the West without first reaching the Western Conference Finals sometime in the five seasons prior. The Warriors would be the exception to that startling stat.
Now, for something that probably won’t become a tradition: the amusing stat of the week! But, first a question. How many threes do you think the Round Mound of Rebound and noted Warriors hater, Charles Barkley, shot during his career?
The answer: 2,020! Unsurprisingly, Sir Charles shot 26.6% on those threes; as he would say, “that’s turrible”! No wonder he dislikes this “jump-shooting team” so much!
Barnes has not yet taken the next step to becoming a solid forward. He has some games when he looks like he has confidence to improve, but he also has games when he disappears on both sides of the floor. Not sure if he has the hunger to improve, so his spot in the starting lineup could be up for grabs next season.
You forgot “Another Bogut injury” and “Draymond Green Foul Trouble”