The Warriors are succeeding in ways that led to their demise in the past. Draymond Green’s shooting, Klay Thompson’s unwillingness to drive, Barnes’ offensive woes, trapping defenses and hunting for matchups. This has become a team that forces their will on the opponent instead of settling to find their own.
“I enjoy when they trap Steph,” says Green. “Obviously that’s their plan, to make someone else beat them, and hey, why not me?” Except Curry did beat them, in what Kerr called one of the best games he’s seen the point-guard play. Even without Bogut (which has turned into a tiresome caveat), this team is lethal. With Bogut, they’re serious contenders.
Curry had one of his more impressive lines of the season on a night he dunked on Kyle Lowry. “Man, he jumped didn’t he?” he proclaimed after the game. The 9/5 favorite to win MVP can now check “Poster Dunk” off his career bucket list, as if he needed a different highlight to add to his crowded repertoire.
Curry’s MVP campaign isn’t the only campaign gaining steam, as Green is becoming a staple in the Most Improved Player discussion. Jimmy Butler and teammate Klay Thompson will be tough to overcome, as Green isn’t a household name (yet), but given the invaluable nature to his play it would be a fitting reward to a stellar season.
Steve Kerr has the relationships, record and regime to make Coach of the Year a serious possibility. If the Warriors finish with one of the top seeds in a historically deep Western Conference, he should be the favorite. Many questioned a new coach’s ability to improve on a 51-win team, but Kerr and his staff have continued to impress.
Individual awards aside, there’s only one communal trophy that a team wants, and that one is earned in June. The Warriors showed the Raptors what it takes to beat not only a Western Conference team, but also the best team in the NBA. The North may be nice, but they’re certainly not the West.