Golden State is dangerous

[MrHoople]

They're defense fell way off without Iggy is my point. They dropped a lotmof spots in the Defensive Efficiency numbers while he was out.

Their defense, not they're, lol.

 

[Hambombs]

Their defense, not they're, lol.

Auto correct on my phone... Lol

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Another solid outing by the Dubs.

Did anyone happen to catch Draymond Green's post game interview on fox sports bayarea?

 

[Hambombs]

Kerr says curry has been best defender on the team so far.



Kerr says Curry has been best defender on Warriors so far


Kerr says Curry has been best defender on Warriors so far
November 6, 2014 by James Park

We all know that Stephen Curry is a wizard when it comes to doing things on offense.

The gifted point guard, who puts fear into the opposition with his ability to pull up for a shot at any given moment – with pinpoint accuracy – can also pass with the best of them. Because his ability to handle the ball has gotten better just about every year since he entered the league, Curry is one of the most unique and challenging players to guard.

What he's not known for is the other end of the floor: defense. The general consensus is that Curry is not at all a good defender, and ex-coach Mark Jackson made that notion easier for everyone to assume last season by constantly putting Curry on the second best backcourt player on most given nights while giving the tougher assignment to Klay Thompson. Naturally, this made most believe that it's all done due to Curry's limitations as a defender.

That wasn't the case, though, and the logic behind the move was actually sound enough for Jackson. Curry had to carry so much of the load offensively for the Golden State Warriors that he could ill-afford to exert too much energy on the defensive end as well. Something had to give, and with Thompson – who is now widely recognized as the best two-way shooting guard in the league – at his disposal, it really wasn't a hard decision to let Thompson carry the load defensively.

Does that justify the idea that the tactic was done because Curry was simply unable to play better defense? Hardly, and the point guard is out to prove this year that he also is capable of becoming a terrific two-way player.

Through the first four games, here are the statistics of the opposing players he has guarded:

Darren Collison: four-of-12 shooting from the field (33.3%), one-of-four from the arc, four-of-six from free throw line for 13 points. On the season, Collin is averaging 15 points on 41.1 percent FG.

Jeremy Lin: zero-of-six shooting from the field (0%), zero-of-one from the arc, six-of-six from free throw line for six points. On the season, Lin is averaging 10.8 points on 37.8 percent FG.

Damian Lillard: four-of-18 shooting from the field (22.2%), one-of-seven from the arc, two-of-two from free throw line for 11 points. On the season, Lillard is averaging 17 points on 31.5 percent FG.

Chris Paul: six-of-15 shooting from the field (40%), one-of-three from the arc, two-of-two from free throw line for 15 points. On the season, Paul is averaging 15.6 points on 42.4 percent FG.

So to summarize, Curry has held the opposing point guards to 14-of-51 shooting from the field, which amounts to an ugly 27.5 percent. They are also shooting just three-of-15 from beyond the arc – good for 20 percent shooting. According to Basketball-Reference, Curry currently has the second best individual defensive rating in the league. Only one other guard is in the top 10 for this category: Tony Allen.

The only time there was a significant change in defense so far this season was against Paul on Wednesday, when Kerr elected to switch Thompson to Paul for a different look in the second half. Curry held Paul to two-of-eight shooting in the early going, but Paul started knocking down some jump shots, so Kerr decided to give him a different look with Thompson, with mixed results.

Of course, there are other factors to consider when crediting a point guard with his individual defense. For one, he needs a center who has a great understanding of help defense and positioning. The Warriors have that in Andrew Bogut, whose presence discourages the opposing point guards to drive into the paint area. Curry's job is to play the screens a certain way (ICE, usually) and position himself in such a way where his man usually has two choices to make: take a mid-to-long range jump shot (the most ineffective shot that every great defensive team wants the opponent to take) or drive to the basket and run into Bogut. Great defense hinges on the rest of your team knowing where to be and how to rotate, and the Warriors are currently tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the best defensive rating in the league.

For Golden State this season, that great defense is starting with Curry. The sample size is obviously still minuscule with only four games out of the way, but the early returns have been absolutely terrific, and it doesn't happen if Curry is a bad defender as the general public believes him to be. Check out this fantastic piece by Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN on what has changed for Curry on the defensive end:

"The second is more under-the-radar, and quite big if true. It's best summarized by Kerr himself: "Steph is fully engaged defensively. He's probably been our best defender through three games." Yes, Stephen Curry is playing some great defense. He's tied with Memphis' Tony Allen for the league lead in defensive rating at 83.9, which looks like a typo crossed with small-sample-size theater mixed with a prank. That's if you believe the hype about his bad defense - hype validated by Jackson's staff outsourcing all Curry's difficult defensive assignments to Thompson…

"He's really taken it upon himself," Golden State's defensive guru Ron Adams said. "I give all the credit to him as a top-flight performer of internalizing stuff defensively that has made him better and has made his team a lot better."

The expectation isn't that Curry actually gets credit for improved defense, though that might happen. The expectation is that Curry sacrifices for his teammates in ways that are noticeable on the coaching level of scrutiny. His improvements won't be obvious in a lock-and-trail defensive set-up where much of the job is shading and chasing your mark to certain spots on the floor. The task isn't to dramatically wreck your opponent - it's to funnel him to help, like a slanted putting green subtly guiding the ball away from its target.

To be clear, Curry is not the kind of ball-stopping, in-your-face, shut-you-down type of defender that a guy like Patrick Beverley is. Most point guards aren't that. As of right now, though, you can say that Curry is an exceptional defender without looking like a crazy person.

Sheridan Hoops

 

[Mecca]

Golden State is terrifying.

 

[wildturkey]

Klay Thompson isn't just winning games, he's winning life.

His girlfriend

 

[HammerDown]

Far too early to be looking into team stats and reading anything into it.

I do that after 25 games

First this, and then this...

I got them going 98-0.

 

[HammerDown]

Klay Thompson isn't just winning games, he's winning life.

His girlfriend

She is a true LA10.

 

[GNG]

They are destroying the Clips right now.

They should.

 

[GNG]

Klay Thompson isn't just winning games, he's winning life.

His girlfriend

 

[GunsUp_ShootinBlanks]

Klay Thompson isn't just winning games, he's winning life.

His girlfriend

That ass though.

 

[HizzleRocker]

I think they will end up via a bad luck and playing the Thunder in an early playoff series. Thunder will slide to a low spot due to obvious injuries. Warriors will rise fast and early. I could see a 2/7 or 3/6 mathchup against a healthy Thunder. This = a 1st round exit for Warriors.

 

[Hambombs]

Klay Thompson isn't just winning games, he's winning life.

His girlfriend

Team USA, then this girl, then the big contract. My confidence would be at a all time high too

 

[OutlawImmortal]

GS lives and dies by the 3 though.. which may not be such a bad thing when you have Thompson and Curry.

 

[Inimical]

GS lives and dies by the 3 though.. which may not be such a bad thing when you have Thompson and Curry.

Those teams never win titles. Its too far and few in between. They can win a lot of regular season games but in the playoffs you get the best defenses. This usually means contested 3's at best. But the weapons GS has really keep teams honest. God forbid anyone gets injured though.

 

[Hambombs]

GS lives and dies by the 3 though.. which may not be such a bad thing when you have Thompson and Curry.

Ehh I wouldn't say that.

 

[Hambombs]

As long as the offensive system creates very good shots it shouldn't matter. Spurs got hot by hitting the 3 ball last year with very good defense

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

I think they will end up via a bad luck and playing the Thunder in an early playoff series. Thunder will slide to a low spot due to obvious injuries. Warriors will rise fast and early. I could see a 2/7 or 3/6 mathchup against a healthy Thunder. This = a 1st round exit for Warriors.

 

[CitySushi]

GS lives and dies by the 3 though.. which may not be such a bad thing when you have Thompson and Curry.

Offensively, they're not the same team as last year. That was exactly the case under Mark Jackson. This year with the implemented motion offense, the team is getting many more open looks around the basket and on cuts going to the hoop. The 3 is a large part of their offense, but they will almost always be a high percentage shot because of the spacing and passing.

The staple of this Warriors team is and will be their defense. Regardless if the Warriors are reliant upon the 3 point shot, they don't need it to be falling at all times anymore in order to get a win. They can bog down on the defensive end, force turnovers and push pace to get some easy buckets.

The Warriors are dangerous because of their depth more than anything. Every team is one injury away from being knocked out from contention. With the added depth this year, Kerr will be able to push the team, while at the same time providing ample rest. The added rest should attribute to some breaks with respects to any nagging injuries. If you look at the Warriors team, with the exception of Draymond Green, the minutes have been down for every player. That should help in continually keeping this team fresh.

 

[Hambombs]

Go team go!