5 Things the Golden State Warriors Must Achieve During 2015
The Golden State Warriors have started the season on a blistering pace, sitting atop the Western Conference with a pristine 28-5 record. As impressive as they have been, however, they still maintain only a 1.5-game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Strong starts to the season are important, but as everyone knows, it’s how you finish that really matters. The Warriors cannot be content to keep the status quo. The Western Conference simply does not allow for any sense of complacency.
The Warriors, despite their impressive record, still have plenty of room for improvement, both on a team and individual basis. It’s clear for anyone watching the game the Warriors have emerged as the premier team in the league. As prestigious as that distinction is, it is also an extremely dangerous place to be.
Gone are the days of the Warriors being the young, hungry hunters. The Warriors are now the one’s being hunted and must be prepared every night for the pressure that brings. Every team, despite their record, will circle the calendar in anticipation of bringing down the current kings of the NBA, if only for one night.
Still, in a game often decided by effort, nobody brings more than the Warriors. With Steve Kerr at the helm, the Warriors can continue their magic carpet ride if they stay hungry and focus on improving in specific areas.
Here are five things the Warriors must achieve in order for this season to be considered a success.
Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green Must Complete Their Breakout Seasons
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Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes. Hustle, grit and tenacity or pure talent and athleticism. When it comes time to pay these emerging young talents, that is what the Warriors will have to pick from.
Fortunately for the Warriors, they don’t have to worry about that yet, and, quite frankly, when the time does come, it is likely both will have forced the Warriors to pay up. That’s how good they’ve been this season.
When it comes to second-round draft picks, Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs has been the gold standard for years now. With age quickly catching up to him, however, it’s time for a new talent to take his spot. Green has the potential to be that player, the player that makes all general managers shake their heads in frustration and wonder, “what if?”
He wasn’t supposed to be this good. He’d easily be a top-five pick if teams were granted the luxury of a redraft. Like Ginobili, Green is comfortable in the starting lineup or coming off the bench. While he’s not the offensive player Ginobili is—and likely never will be—his defense and versatility make him just as valuable.
Green’s numbers have improved across the board, averaging 11.9 points, 3.7 assists and 8.3 rebounds, all career highs. He’s also contributing 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game as well. The notion Green is the type of player who simply delivers intangibles is long gone. The numbers now match the effort we’ve always seen.
Like Green, Barnes has found his role on the team and has settled in nicely. While he was drafted to be an offensive dynamo that could one day lead a team, it’s become clear he is not that. Still, not every player has to be a superstar to have value.
With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson shredding defenses on a nightly basis, Barnes has been the recipient of a plethora of open shots and has made defenses pay. He’s shooting 50 percent from the field and nearly 44 percent from three-point range.
Barnes is the perfect complement for his electrifying counterparts, the bass player as opposed to the lead singer. And for the Warriors, it’s exactly what they need him to be.
Drafted in the same year but an entire round apart, Green and Barnes will forever be linked. For the Warriors, it doesn’t matter who plays like the first-rounder and who plays like the second. All that matters is that they have them both. If they can continue their breakout seasons, the Warriors will remain the favorites to win the Western Conference.
The Warriors Must Finish Atop the Western Conference
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While the Warriors have started the season at a breakneck pace, they must remember the regular season is a long, grueling marathon, not a sprint. Nobody will remember their incredible start if it’s not coupled with an equally impressive finish.
For years the Western Conference has been the class of the NBA. As impressive as making it to four straight NBA Finals was for the Miami Heat, the fact it was done in the Eastern Conference diminishes its credibility. The West is a gauntlet, littered with pitfalls at every possible corner.
For the Warriors to be where they are speaks to the incredible player development and continuity over the years. They are what the bottom-feeder teams with young talent like the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans strive to be.
You can go from worst to first. The Warriors are proving it now.
Postseason success is often dependant on seeding. For a team with limited playoff experience, playing in front of the best crowd in the league at Oracle Arena will be vital. The Warriors must strive to stay atop the Conference until the conclusion of the regular season.
Postseason juggernauts like the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks don’t need the luxury of playing at home. They’re battle tested and have proved their worth already. For the Warriors, a deep postseason run hinges on home-court advantage throughout. Finishing 2015 strong will give it to them.
Stephen Curry Must Continue on His MVP Pace
3 of 5Some might say it’s premature, but it’s time to stop limiting Stephen Curry to simply best-point-guard-in-the-NBA debates. He’s thoroughly ended that one. It’s time to enter his name in the best-player-in-the-NBA conversation.
No player in the league plays the game as effortlessly as Curry does, seemingly toying with opponents at times. His mastery of the game was on full display against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, January 5. While his final stat line was nothing special, the way he controlled the game was.
Russell Westbrook, perhaps the most impressive athlete in the league outside of LeBron James, was simply abused by Curry on numerous occasions. Despite his size and speed advantage, Westbrook could not account for Curry’s sheer skill.
Mesmerizing ball-handling and breathtaking finishes at the rim had everyone, Westbrook included, dumbfounded. Just watch the video above for proof.
At 22.9 points, 8.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, Curry possesses one of the premier lines in the NBA. He’s also the best player on the best team. While James Harden of the Houston Rockets has the slightest of edges in the numbers department, it’s hard to argue either man has been more valuable than the other.
Curry has the potential to be even better if his three-point shooting gets back to where it has historically been. For the first time in his career, Curry is shooting under 40 percent from outside. Things always have a way of averaging out, however, and for Curry, an even more explosive second half would do that.
For the Warriors to win the Western Conference, Curry will have to play like the MVP he’s been thus far. He’s shown no signs of stopping so far.
The Warriors Must Continue to Limit Their Turnovers
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It’s no secret the Warriors are extremely turnover-prone. They’ve been near the top of the list in that category for years. This season has been no different, as they’re averaging 15.2 per game.
While that’s still higher then they’d like it to be, it’s a drastic improvement from earlier in the season when they were topping the 20 mark. It’s also reassuring the Warriors are not blind to their potential Achilles' heel, as Kerr himself addressed the issue, via Diamond Leung of the San Jose Mercury News:
"When you're really, really good like Steph, and you can make any play out there and you always feel like you can score and you can, you tend to get in a little more trouble.
I'm convinced it's four or five careless plays a game that would keep us back, would keep us from getting where we need to get. We've eliminated those at times this year, but not on a consistent basis.
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Kerr, a five-time champion during his professional career, understands not only what it takes to win a championship, but also what can’t happen. While it will ultimately fall on the players to keep the on-court action clean, you can bet Kerr will keep the message loud and clear: if you take care of the ball, you win basketball games.
Andrew Bogut Must Finish the Season Healthy
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This is without a doubt the most harped-on topic in Warriorland, and for good reason. A healthy Andrew Bogut makes the Warriors title favorites. It doesn’t get any more in-depth than that.
Bogut finally made his return Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers and delivered 15 solid minutes. That’s all the Warriors could ask for at the moment. Bogut will likely continue to come off the bench for a few games as Kerr slowly eases him back into his normal minutes.
With the exception of Curry, no player is more vital to a deep run than Bogut. With behemoths like Marc Gasol, Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan lurking in the Western Conference, it will take the human wall that Bogut is to keep the rim protected. There is no more imposing defensive force in the league.
Bogut’s health must be Steve Kerr’s greatest priority heading into 2015. Everything hinges on his availability in the postseason. As feisty as Draymond Green is, it is Bogut who is the true heart and soul of the defense. For a great, in-depth look at Bogut’s defensive value, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley covered it here.
The Warriors are more than capable of bringing home the title this season, and it all begins and ends on the broad shoulders of Andrew Bogut.
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