Golden State Warriors Ensuring Early-Season Hype Is Legit

The Golden State Warriors haven't had much practice in the art of delivering on expectations, mostly because it's been so long since anyone expected anything from them.

But a stirring playoff run, improved health and the acquisition of a legitimate star in Andre Iguodala led to a nearly unprecedented amount of Dubs-related hype this past summer. Thanks to a season-opening surge, the Warriors are proving even the most optimistic forecasts accurate.

The Tipping Point?

With just five games under their belts, it's not really fair to start talking about how the Warriors are primed for a title run. For at least the next few weeks, the preface "It's early, but..." will pepper most NBA conversations. Rightly so.

But we can look at the small sample of what the Warriors have done so far to help explain why they appear to be a team with staying power.

Since we're starting with the small picture, it makes sense to examine their most recent triumph first: a 106-93 road victory over the similarly hype-laden Minnesota Timberwolves. In that contest, the Dubs proved they could not only survive against a good team while playing at less than full strength, they showed they could excel.

Stephen Curry played poorly during the first three quarters, shooting just 2-of-8 and looking generally uncomfortable. He sat out the final period with an ankle injury, which opened the door for Iguodala to show just how much of an asset he could be.

Playing point guard, the 6'6" Iguodala distributed and defended, proving that an injury to Curry was no longer fatal to the Dubs. What's more, Iggy's turn at the point made it clear that the loss of Jarrett Jack wasn't really much of a loss at all.

Iguodala is a more natural facilitator than the shoot-first Jack, and with all of the offensive firepower on this year's roster, his style of play at the point might actually be a better fit than what Jack brought a season ago.

Speaking of that firepower, it was on display against the Wolves.

Klay Thompson lit Minnesota up for 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting, a performance that actually lowered his field-goal percentage on the season. Overall, the Warriors' shooting guard is averaging 24 points while hitting 58 percent of his field goals and 56 percent of his threes.

Last season, Thompson filled a supporting role on offense. This year, he's been a primary option.

Iguodala's transformative presence and Thompson's growth weren't the only takeaways from the Dubs' win over the Wolves. We also learned that Golden State could defend at an elite level without their anchor in the middle.

Foul trouble limited Andrew Bogut to just 16 minutes, but the Warriors still managed to hold the uptempo Timberwolves to 38 percent shooting and just 11 fast break points. Iguodala and Thompson shut down the wings, while reserve big man Marreese Speights did a solid job of filling in for Bogut in the lane.

Oh, and second-year stud Harrison Barnes played his first minutes of the season, pouring in 14 points in as many minutes while reassuring everyone that his inflamed toe hadn't sapped his athleticism.

The win against Minnesota was critical in the Warriors' effort to legitimize their hot start. Comfortable victories over the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers didn't prove much, and the embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Clippers raised a few doubts about whether Golden State was for real.

The Wolves profile as a playoff team, which makes the Warriors' road win an impressive one.

Overall, beating the Timberwolves in the fashion they did proves that the Warriors are now capable of playing a number of different styles and employing a number of different lineups. They didn't fall apart when Curry and Bogut couldn't contribute, and that might be the biggest indicator of how the team's early success is built to last.

The Big Picture

The defensive wherewithal the Warriors showed against Minnesota wasn't an isolated incident. On the season, Golden State's stopping power has taken a leap forward that a few in-the-know parties suspected.

In September, Bogut told Bleacher Report he thought the Warriors had the potential to defend at a top-five level.

"

I think we can. The No. 1 thing with defensive teams is that everyone has to buy in. First and foremost, we are a high-scoring team and that's a strength. The reason why we were successful last season wasn't because we were a high-scoring team; we got stops when we needed to get stops, and that wasn't a trademark of the Warriors for the last 20 years. So we're very adamant that that's a focus of what wins games for us.

"

Turns out he was right.

At present, the Dubs rank second in the league in defensive rating, trailing only the notoriously stingy Indiana Pacers, per NBA.com.

The big Aussie has held down the middle while Thompson and Iguodala have combined to form one of the best defensive wing duos in the league. Since Mark Jackson came aboard as head coach, the Warriors have talked a lot about their commitment to defense. Now, they're practicing what they preach.

On the offensive end, Golden State has presented opponents with a totally unique challenge. Defenders have to honor Curry 30 feet from the basket because of his ability to hoist up threes off the dribble. Despite his status as every team's No. 1 defensive priority, the Warriors point guard has been draining more triples than ever this season, as his 3.6 makes per game attest.

When defenses have doubled Curry as far out as the halfcourt line, the Warriors have seen some very appealing scoring opportunities once the point guard gets rid of the ball. Essentially, the threat of Curry from the outside creates consistent 4-on-3 chances for the rest of the team.

When Curry has recognized the double-team and moved the ball quickly, Golden State's excellent passing trio of David Lee, Bogut and Iguodala have been dicing up defenses. Even when a pick-and-roll takes Curry deep into the corner, two defenders always follow him in an effort to execute a trap.

You can get an idea of how wide open the floor looks when Curry makes a quick pass in the still below:

Thompson can't be left alone, and as Bogut is about to catch the ball near the elbow, he has two open shooters and a lane to the basket. The Dubs are seeing a lot of situations like this, and they've been capitalizing.

What the Warriors are doing on offense is sustainable, and if defenses adjust to prevent those 4-on-3 opportunities, they'll have to compromise by sending less pressure toward Curry.

We all know what happens when Curry isn't being pressured, though, don't we?

Talk about a catch-22.

Growing Up

For most of the past 40 years, the Warriors have been underdogs. That's an easy role to play because the stakes are low. Nonexistent expectations aren't hard to meet.

Saddled with serious hype for the first time in what seems like forever, the Warriors are actually delivering. Their ability to live up to their preseason billing—at least so far—is a major sign of the organization's overall growth.

At this early juncture, we can't say Golden State is a lock to contend for a championship, but we can say that they've made good on the promise they showed at the end of last year. For a franchise that hasn't ever had to live up to expectations, that's a pretty big achievement.