Golden State Warriors' Splash Brothers Can End NBA's Best Backcourt Debate
Sharpshooting Golden State Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson aren't big on debates.
While others have passionately made their claims as the NBA's greatest backcourt, the Splash Brothers have kept as quiet as Olympic divers. They haven't really needed to talk since their numbers speak so loudly on their behalf.
Besides, there is little to be gained by thumping one's chest in front of a microphone. As Curry told reporters at Warriors' training camp, beliefs of backcourt supremacy are ones that should be felt in every NBA locker room:
"I would have said the same thing (about us). ... What are you supposed to say? I would say we're the best backcourt. ... Russell (Westbrook) said he was the best [point guard] yesterday. Everybody has got to be confident. If he would have said he had the second-best backcourt in the league, I probably would have gone over there and ragged on him all day.
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Add in the subjective nature of this discussion—what exactly makes a backcourt the league's best?—and it's easy to see why Curry and Thompson have chosen to stay out of it. The words of their backcourt peers clearly haven't riled them up, and even if they had there still would not have been an easy way to refute them.
The best course of action is and always has been letting others handle the debate. Given the caliber of those going to bat for them, it's hard to imagine Curry and Thompson doing any better for themselves.
"I saw an article in USA Today saying we have the best backcourt," Hall of Fame player and current Warriors executive board member Jerry West said, per Bay Area News Group's Diamond Leung. "I truly believe that."
The article West referenced was written by USA Today's Adi Joseph, who lauded the Warriors guards for both their lofty ceilings and comfortably high basements.
"What pushes the 'Splash Brothers' to the top is a mix of potential and experience," Joseph wrote. "Curry (26) and Thompson (24) are in their primes right now."
If Golden State simply employs two guards playing at their peak levels, it automatically moves near the top of the list. There just aren't many teams that have been given such a luxury.
The Los Angeles Lakers (Steve Nash-Kobe Bryant) and Brooklyn Nets (Deron Williams-Joe Johnson) have historically relevant pairings, but the players involved aren't nearly what they used to be. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Charlotte Hornets (Kemba Walker-Lance Stephenson), Washington Wizards (John Wall-Bradley Beal) and Cleveland Cavaliers (Kyrie Irving-Dion Waiters) are still figuring out what they could potentially become down the line.
Neither Curry nor Thompson has left his best days behind him, and it's hard to say for certain that either has officially entered his prime. Both still have available avenues to improvement, which should terrify the rest of the league given how well their production stacked up next to their top competition's last season:
| Curry-Thompson | GSW | 42.4 | 45.8 | 42.1 | 10.7 | 7.4 | 2.5 |
| Beverley-Harden | HOU | 35.6 | 44.4 | 36.4 | 8.8 | 8.2 | 3.0 |
| Paul-Redick | LAC | 34.3 | 46.3 | 38.0 | 12.9 | 6.4 | 3.3 |
| Bledsoe-Dragic | PHX | 38.0 | 49.5 | 39.2 | 11.4 | 7.9 | 0.6 |
| Lillard-Matthews | POR | 37.1 | 43.1 | 39.3 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 1.7 |
| Lowry-DeRozan | TOR | 40.6 | 42.7 | 35.8 | 11.4 | 9.0 | 2.6 |
| Wall-Beal | WAS | 36.4 | 42.6 | 37.8 | 12.1 | 7.8 | 2.8 |
One number missing from the above table is 11.0, as in the amount of points by which the Warriors outscored their opponents per 100 possessions when Curry and Thompson were both on the floor. Not only was that the net-point differential of all the backcourt combos listed here, it also tied for the 11th-highest efficiency rating out of the 250 two-man tandems to play at least 1,000 minutes together last season.
Curry and Thompson graded out as a devastating force regardless of position. Together, they can terrorize teams in a number of different ways at either end of the floor.
"Curry may be the league's best shooter and if he improves his defense perhaps an MVP candidate," wrote Bulls.com's Sam Smith. "Thompson is a good defender and excellent shooter. The combination is the most versatile and productive."
And again, the players both have ample room for growth.
First-year coach Steve Kerr has this offense humming, trading stagnant isolation play for movement of the ball and the players.
Not to read too heavily into preseason action, but the early returns on this attack have been tremendous. Through three games, the Warriors are averaging 116 points on 53.6 percent shooting. Both of those numbers would have led the league last season, as would the team's mind-boggling 72.0 assist percentage.
Not surprisingly, Curry and Thompson have been at the center of these offensive outbursts.
Despite each logging less than 26 minutes a night, Thompson and Curry sit third and fourth, respectively, on the current scoring leaders list. The pair are averaging a combined 39.3 points per game, with both shooting above 55 percent from the field and 53 percent from distance.
For Curry, absurd as this sounds, this is almost business as usual. He's averaging 21.7 points and 5.0 assists to go along with his immaculate .593/.538/.857 shooting slash. He put up 24.0 points and 8.5 assists across 78 games last season and compiled a blistering .471/.424/.885 slash line.
His production is sustainable—or relatively sustainable given the increased defensive effort he'll face once these games actually count.
As for Thompson, it's scary to think how many levels may yet sit in front of him.
Last season, he further established himself as an elite shooter (41.7 three-point percentage on 535 attempts), a complementary scorer (18.4 points) and a versatile perimeter defender. He's still excelling in all those areas, but as Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News noted, Thompson has hinted at a vastly more versatile offensive game:
"He’s attacking the basket in a variety of ways — slashing, post-ups, drop-steps — and meeting with success on all of them. He looks even more natural and comfortable than before with the ball in his hands. And unlike last year, where he could disappear or drift for stretches, he’s asserting himself in ways beyond just heaving up three pointers.
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The Warriors have a chance to employ two stars in the same backcourt. That would end the best backcourt debate—which already leans the Warriors' way—pretty quickly.
The Toronto Raptors may come closest to having a two-star setup, but Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan can match neither the production nor the efficiency of Curry and Thompson. The New Orleans Pelicans could also have a dogs in this race (Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon), but only if their backcourt stays healthy and plays better than it has in recent seasons.
If Thompson solidifies his spot as a star, it will be harder to overlook the limitations of the weaker members of the Houston Rockets (Patrick Beverley), Los Angeles Clippers (J.J. Redick) and Chicago Bulls (Jimmy Butler) backcourts. And the lack of a lengthy track record for the Phoenix Suns (Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic) and Washington Wizards (Bradley Beal and John Wall) is tough to ignore with Curry's growing superstardom.
No team has a tandem quite like Golden State's. Some might have a brighter individual star or a better sidekick, but none receive more from both parties than the Warriors.
For all the measurements that can be applied to this debate, none may be more important than the median between each group's ceiling and its floor. Try to find one as high as the Warriors'; if it does exist, it won't be around for long.
Just don't expect to ever hear that from these players themselves. There just isn't anything worth saying since their statistics, stature and ongoing development have already ended this debate.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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