How Warriors Can Solve Their Biggest Questions as Playoffs Approach
Past achievements say the Golden State Warriors will always deserve at least a cursory mention in the NBA championship conversation as long as their core remains intact.
A present look at the league standings, though, shows this squad is nowhere near the championship race.
The Dubs have flashed a sky-high ceiling, but they've had trouble sustaining that success, which they'd obviously need to do in order to win four consecutive playoff series—and perhaps a play-in tournament game or two even before that. What needs to happen for this group to wind up anywhere near its ultimate goal? Well, shoring up a few areas would at least take care of this club's biggest questions.
Getting Andrew Wiggins in a Groove
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A Feb. 2020 trade to Golden State felt like a career-changer for Andrew Wiggins, as he'd posted loud numbers before but never in a winning environment. Once he joined the Dubs, though, he became more efficient and effective at both ends, an ascension that saw him earn his first All-Star selection and serve as a key contributor on a championship team.
But he appears to have backtracked considerably this season. His counting categories have been muted, and his shooting rates have regressed. And just when it felt like things might be clicking for him, a personal matter forced him to miss four consecutive contests.
Jonathan Kuminga's rise has meant the Warriors don't need Wiggins to serve as Stephen Curry's co-star, but they still need the veteran swingman to be at his best. His defense, athleticism and complementary scoring are all key ingredients in this group's recipe for success.
If he can build off the progress he'd made before these absences, Golden State would have to be taken seriously as a tricky playoff matchup, at the very least. In his last nine outings before stepping away, he averaged 15.3 points on 53.5/50/80 shooting and posted the team's third-highest plus/minus (plus-46 in 251 minutes).
Limiting Turnovers
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Even when the Warriors were at their absolute best, they seldom had a lot of size and often struggled with ball control.
That lack of size is as worrying as ever, given the caliber of bigs that could be awaiting this group in the playoffs, but the Warriors obviously aren't getting any bigger. The players can't control that.
What they could change, though, is their continued challenge of being too loose with the basketball. Adding a masterful decision-maker like Chris Paul has helped limit some of their mistakes, but this team is still liable to take chances it shouldn't or airmail an errant pass at the worst possible time. Even with the Point God on the team, the Dubs still sit a forgettable 22nd in turnover percentage, per NBA.com.
They could previously overcome those mistakes by otherwise playing basketball at an absurdly high level, but this group doesn't have the same top gear in it. The importance of maximizing each possession, then, has grown exponentially, and the Dubs need to do a better job of playing to that reality.
Having Stephen Curry Be Stephen Curry
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Admittedly, this feels like a strange place to take this discussion, since Curry is about the farthest thing from a question mark that this club has.
But he hasn't quite been at his fire-breathing best, which is a huge deal when the Dubs' hopes of a lengthy playoff run are most closely tied to his brilliance. He has to be spectacular for them to be good, and he's been a step behind his normal standards.
His 20.6 player efficiency rating is his lowest mark since his sophomore season, per Basketball-Reference. His 62.0 true shooting percentage is his second-worst mark during coach Steve Kerr's tenure (not counting Curry's five-game run in his injury-derailed 2019-20 season). Take that campaign out, and you have to travel back more than a decade to find the last time Curry posted worst marks in box plus/minus (plus-5.1) or win shares per 48 minutes (.137).
These aren't necessarily signs of any decline, and they may stem from the heavy burden he's had to carry due to a lack of support more than anything. Regardless of the reasoning, though, the point holds true that he must be wholly dominant for the Dubs to have a chance.
