How Warriors Can Solve Their Biggest Questions as Playoffs Approach
The Golden State Warriors might be defending NBA champions, but they can't quite seem to hit their championship stride this season.
They looked like they were rounding into form with a recent five-game winning streak, then they immediately lost to a Los Angeles Lakers team missing LeBron James and an Oklahoma City Thunder squad that runs light on established talent.
This one-step-forward, one-step-back path won't lead the Warriors back to the championship podium. What might, though, is checking the following three boxes to tackle some of the team's biggest question marks.
Get Andrew Wiggins Back
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It's been nearly a month since Andrew Wiggins last hit the hardwood, as a personal matter has forced him to miss nine consecutive contests.
First and foremost, you hope for nothing but the best for Wiggins and his family. There are things in life that are much bigger than basketball, and this is one of them.
"The only thing that matters is giving Andrew the space that he needs to deal with what he is going through and that's what we are doing," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. "Nothing else really matters. You know, the focus of the team or the games or whatever, it's just basketball. He's dealing with something that is important to him and personal, so we are giving him space."
It's always awkward shifting the conversation back to basketball, but since we're discussing a basketball team chasing a basketball championship, that's what we have to do.
The Warriors won't win this title without Wiggins. They certainly wouldn't have won the 2022 championship without his tenacious on-ball defense and support scoring. He fills a massively important role for this club, and it desperately needs him back in that spot—whenever his personal situation allows for a return.
Find the Right Fit for Jordan Poole
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Jordan Poole is a tremendous talent. Squint while he's flashing his dizzying dribble moves, pull-up perimeter shooting and creative finishes around the basket, and you might swear you're watching a Stephen Curry clone.
But Poole isn't having a Curry 2.0 type of impact on this team. Not anything close to that, in fact.
Poole's efficiency is down, and his inconsistency is all over the place. While the following number generally reflects some of the issues Golden State has encountered with its second team as a whole, it's still worth noting that the Warriors have fared 5.0 points worse per 100 possessions with Poole than without him, per NBA.com.
Golden State has to figure out what helps bring out his best more often than not. The Warriors need his scoring, distributing and driving—they're only 14th in offensive efficiency—but they need them to come without these wild swings in productivity.
Stop the Defensive Slip-Ups
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The Warriors have held 18 opponents to 110 points or fewer this season. They have won 17 of those contests.
When this group brings it defensively, it's borderline unbeatable. That's what makes it so maddening to watch this club when it can't string stops together. Every once in a while, this defense just totally malfunctions—see the 137 points and 53.2/45.9/83.3 shooting it allowed to the Thunder on Tuesday—and it doesn't have the offensive firepower to overcome that level of generosity.
In a single season, the Warriors have slipped from second to 13th in defensive efficiency. Getting back on the championship path starts with reversing this trend.
"It has to come from within," Draymond Green told reporters. "Defense is all about will, a want to defend. Defense isn't fun. You've just got to do it if you want to win, and we haven't."
The Warriors have enough on this roster to field a top-10 defense. They just need to play like that every single night.
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