When your best two players, two of the greatest offensive players in NBA history, combine to go 10-32 from the field and 3-15 from distance, you’re not likely to win many games. Instead, the Golden State Warriors are uniquely built in a way that allows several franchise superstars to struggle because there are a couple more Hall-of-Famers right next to them to pick up the pace. And you go down the line, there is simply an embarrassment of riches, from Draymond Green’s shooting all the way down to Kevon Looney’s ability to switch and defend the rim in a single possession.
Draymond’s 18-9-2 line hearkened back to the days when the Warriors actually needed him to score. His shooting not only opened up the offense because of all the attention on Steph but was a necessity when no one else had it going. He’s now shooting 53 percent from 3 and if he can get back to some semblance of the 38.8 percent shooter in 2015-16, this team becomes not only unbeatable but downright GOAT.
“You like to see him get hyped up too.” Steph said in the postgame with a wry smile on his face. His teammates know it. The other teams know it. Back then, when Draymond was on it meant a win. They don’t need it as much nowadays but a glimpse back into the past to exemplify just how deep and talented this iteration of the Warriors in the present is always fun.
Speaking of depth, Kerr’s postgame conference started with him talking about how Mike Brown thinks he’s “crazy” for playing all of his guys. Remember Brown kept his rotations tight when he ran the team in last year’s postseason, coupled with, of course, plenty of Steph/KD PNR. While Brown is the Twitter Coach’s dream, Kerr remains the actual team’s coach. So of course he played all 14 guys.
Looney, now famous for losing 15 pounds during the summer, the first person where Weight Watch actually came to fruition, looked superb on defense. Jordan Bell’s rim-running remains on par with JaVale McGee, except with Draymond-esque intensity and feel on defense. Patrick McCaw is still struggling a little with what to do offensively but is in much better rhythm now than in the beginning of the season. Nick Young made a shot. Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala were Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. And Omri Casspi, need I say more? The offense just moves better because he knows when to cut, when to spot up, and when to space the floor in transition.
The Warriors are ranked 3rd in defensive rating during the 4-game win streak and everything is pointing to a team poised to break off one of their patented long win streaks. The slow start looks behind them, the team is moving together on defense, which is always more important than their offense, given what is given from that side. How many can they win this time around?
Here are a couple words on Steve Kerr, who took out a few minutes pregame to speak out on gun violence and gun control:
Steve Kerr calls gun control a safety issue, references article he read comparing it to automobiles decades back pic.twitter.com/HPco7phuhh
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 7, 2017
We need more Steve Kerrs leading this country.