Golden State Warriors: 5 Positive Signs from the Team's First Week

With five games under their belt, the 2011-12 Golden State Warriors have looked drastically different from any previous Warrior clubs on the court.

Unfortunately, their 2-3 record (including a home loss to Philadelphia and a road loss in Phoenix) looks very similar to recent Warrior teams.

Under new coach Mark Jackson (and assistant coach Michael Malone), the team has adopted a selfless approach to basketball. Whether it be making the extra pass, helping on defense or crashing the glass, the culture in the Warriors locker room seems to resonate around a team-first concept.

Their sluggish start may be due to a lack of talent (somehow Larry Riley took a club who couldn't stop anyone to one that can't score enough to win games) or another unlucky encounter with the injury bug, but something has not yet clicked for Jackson's group.

It's almost as if the team missed months of practices and games for some reason.

With that said, a number of positives have emerged from this first week of Jackson's (and Malone's) Warriors basketball.

For instance...

Player Rotations Are No Longer Set in Stone

People may have their own opinions on Jackson's coaching style, but it's difficult to imagine anyone complaining about unwarranted minutes.

Despite being a mere five games into this season, the Warriors have already seen eight different players start a game and already seen one player seemingly lose his job (Ish Smith).

Yes, Monta Ellis' minutes (39.3 per game) do not deviate much from what Warrior fans have seen lately, but the rest of the Warriors minutes show the level of accountability that Jackson promised he'd base his rotations around.

At season's end last year, four Warriors averaged better than 33 minutes per game. This season, only Ellis and David Lee (34.8) have topped that mark and with those two leading the team in scoring, it's hard to argue that those minutes are not deserved.

The one anomaly to this rule has been Dorell Wright, who has logged the third most minutes among Warriors (32.4) despite starting his season with abysmal play. Wright has shot just 30.8 percent from the field—and 15.0 percent from three-point land—while tallying a pedestrian 6.6 points and 5.8 rebounds.

Of course, with newcomer Brandon Rush being the only Warrior not named Ellis, Lee or Stephen Curry to average better than seven points per game, perhaps Jackson knows that he'll need Wright to be more like the player he was last year (16.4 points, third in Most Improved Player voting) for the Warriors to succeed and, thus, does not want to risk burning his confidence this early in the season.

The Warriors Are Not Among the Worst Rebounders in the League

The title to this slide may not do this stat justice, but considering this club posted a league-worst -4.3 rebounding differential last season, their -0.6 showing this season (19th in the NBA) has been respectable to say the least.

Jackson's center-by-committe—Andris Biedrins and Kwame Brown—have averaged a combined 11.2 rebounds in their 30 minutes, while David Lee continues to lead the team with 8.0.

And with the team holding opponents to just 44.4 percent from the field (16th in the NBA), the increase in offensive rebounding opportunities have made defensive rebounds that much more important to finish possessions and secure stops.

Assuming Jackson can ever solve Ekpe Udoh's rebounding problems (3.6 in 16.4 minutes) and, using his accountability system, gives more minutes to Brown (6.2 in 16.2 minutes) and Dominic McGuire (nine rebounds against Phoenix on Monday), this is a stat that could keep getting better as the year progresses.

The Bench Boasts Actual NBA Veterans

Other than their high-flying offense and poor win totals, the Warriors teams of recent memory have been best known for their ability to find NBA talent out of the NBDL and undrafted free agents.

C.J. Watson, Reggie Williams and Anthony Morrow each showcased their talents in the Bay Area before securing lucrative deals on other NBA rosters, but players like Jeff Adrien, Chris Hunter, Cartier Martin, DeMarcus Nelson and Rob Kurz show how unpredictable that strategy can be.

McGuire and Brown both logged impactful minutes for the Charlotte Bobcats, one of the stingiest defenses, last season. Klay Thompson, Ekpe Udoh and Brandon Rush are all lottery picks who were either slated for a high ceiling or able to make an immediate impact on an NBA roster.

Even the reported next Warrior, Nate Robinson, is a six-year NBA veteran with a career double-digit scoring average and an NBA championship on his resume.

While the bench has struggled finding a consistent scorer (Rush, Thompson and Udoh have each shown flashes), with the exception of Thompson, they have all shown the ability to play tough, physical defense.

The good news is, the potential to solve the problem is already there. Thompson was reported to be one of the most gifted scorers in this year's draft, while Rush already has a 19-point effort under his belt this season.

Monta Ellis Has Already Shown Development Under Jackson

If Monta Ellis is not a Western Conference All-Star this season, one of two things will have happened: either he will have suffered a catastrophic injury or he will have been traded to the Eastern Conference.

He's been that good already.

He's already amassed a career-best 8.5 assists (to just 3.1 turnovers, very respectable for a shooting guard forced to run the offense) to go along with his team-leading 20.3 points.

And he's compiled these numbers while dealing with a sexual harassment lawsuit and the recent death of his grandmother.

Oh, and did I mention his jump shot looks like he skipped a few workouts during the league's work stoppage?

Along with the steady hand of David Lee, Ellis has kept the Warriors afloat despite limited contributions from the rest of the starting five.

As mentioned before, Wright has looked like he might be fighting to keep a spot in the rotation, let alone the starting five. Biedrins has been, well, Biedrins. And Curry has looked nothing like the player that Warrior fans hoped he would be by his third season. Whether his struggles can be linked to the lockout, his ankle injuries or Jackson's new system, right now it's hard to imagine that the club held him out of trade talks for players like Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo.

The Western Conference Is Not What It Once Was

Only four teams in the conference sit above .500, and the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and defending champion Dallas Mavericks are not among them.

The Lakers and Grizzlies are likely to bounce back this season, but the Mavericks have looked as old as their roster says that they are. The San Antonio Spurs, one of those four teams above .500 have lost Manu Ginobili with a broken hand, and were questioned about their age before the injury occurred.

The Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves should all have their fair share of ping pong balls in next year's draft lottery. The Denver Nuggets have plenty of support for their second unit, but plenty of questions surrounding their first.

In other words, the Warriors will have no one to blame but themselves if they fail to secure a playoff spot this season. If Ellis and Curry find their outside range and limit careless turnovers and fouls, they could each finish the season in the upper echelon of Western Conference players.

Jackson has said all season that the Warriors are a no excuse team basketball. The talent is there and the right coaching staff is in place; their season will simply come down to staying healthy and executing Jackson's (and Malone's) game plan.