Golden State Warriors: 5 Reasons Why This Team Is Legit

The Golden State Warriors are perhaps one of the most surprising stories in the early portion of the 2014-2015 NBA season.

With a 21-2 record, they have jumped out to an early lead with the best record in the league. Their streak of 16 straight wins has left many wondering if this team is “for real” and if its current play will translate when it matters most.

These five reasons are key factors as to why the recent success of the Warriors should not be ignored.

Diversified Scoring

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Stephen Curry is the leader that the Warriors need, but he is getting help.

As Kevin Yeung put it in his Welcome To Loud City piece about star power in the league, “Star talent gets you really far in the NBA.”

Championship teams tend to need a star player that carries them to a championship. The Warriors have cultivated their star in Stephen Curry, who is having a career year. He carried Davidson as a Cinderella team in the NCAA tournament, and now it seems he’s dead set on doing that with the Warriors in the NBA.

Curry is not alone, though.

Klay Thompson is also having a breakout year, as he is averaging 21.7 points per game. Thompson and Curry are playing so well together that Nathan Grubel of Rant Sports lists them as the best backcourt in the league.

Draymond Green, Marreese Speights and Harrison Barnes are also averaging double-digit figures in scoring. This scoring diversity is important, as teams will continue to focus on shutting down Curry and Thompson, which means these players will have to rise to the occasion when called upon.

To this point in the year, they have done just that.

Team Assists

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Ball movement has been key to the Warriors' style of play

Better ball movement is becoming more important in the NBA as coaches continue to develop defenses to shut down star players. The Warriors are doing a strong job of getting the ball to the correct player, as they are averaging 25.3 assists per game.

That average is the highest that the team has recorded in more than 20 years. The 1993-94 season is one of the only two in which the Warriors were able to win at least 50 games.

If these numbers continue throughout the year, they may be a strong precursor to how well they will compete for the long-term.

Team Defense

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Andrew Bogut is a key player on defense for Golden State.

Even though the Warriors are lauded as a scoring force, their defensive play should not be overlooked. Through 23 games, they are allowing only 96.8 points per game.

When compared to previous years, this is their best performance in this area since the 2003-2004 season. Their 45.7 rebounds per outing play a huge role in their ability to eat up time of possession in each game.

Andrew Bogut’s performance will be vital throughout the rest of the year—especially as David Lee works his way back into the rotation. While his scoring is down, which is acceptable with so many different weapons on the roster, he has improved when it comes to rebounding and blocks. 

He is a legit threat to average a double-double, which would be a major boost to a team that plays this fast-paced style of basketball.

Strength of Schedule

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The Warriors have played well against the best teams in the league.

Golden State has taken advantage of its schedule to this point in the year. It has played only seven games against teams with winning records. In those seven games, the Warriors boast a 6-1 record.

On the other side of that coin, they have played 16 games against teams that currently have losing records and have a 15-1 record in those contests.

The Warriors are doing well to win the games they are supposed to when facing “lesser” opponents. However, their victories against teams that are potentially playoff-bound are more important, as they show that they have the ability to compete with anyone in the league.

Steve Kerr

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Steve Kerr has made history as the head coach for the Golden State Warriors.

Steve Kerr is making his coaching debut with the Warriors and has done a strong job to this point. Josh Planos of the Washington Post made his case as to why Kerr deserves much more credit than he may receive come the end of the year.

The Warriors are off to a great start as a team, but Brandon Schlager of Perform Media indicates Kerr is the first head coach in NBA history to start his career with so much success.

It will be interesting to see how well Kerr will respond if or when the Warriors face some sort of serious controversy. To this point, Kerr has done a strong job as coach this year.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.