Top 5 Warriors Takeaways as Series vs. Spurs Shifts to San Antonio
Two playoff games in the books, two double-digit victories for the Golden State Warriors.
Just like everyone expected, right?
Sort of. While the results fit expectations for the world champs, the road to them has provided interesting insights into their ability to withstand the absence of two-time MVP Stephen Curry (sprained MCL).
Their starting five didn't log a second together in the regular season. Their most utilized reserve played a G League game last month.
These aren't your slightly older sibling's Warriors.
As Golden State heads to the Alamo City for Games 3 and 4 with the San Antonio Spurs, here are the top five takeaways from the first two encounters.
Late-Season Stumble: Behind Them
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So much for pretending Golden State was vulnerable.
Sure, the closing 17-game stretch was choppy. The Warriors not only lost 10 of those contests, they ranked 19th in efficiency over that stretch. It was fair to question whether they could flip the proverbial switch, particularly with Curry—their most important player statistically—lacking a timeframe for his return.
But where are the worries now? Golden State has won three different quarters by double figures, and it boasts the postseason's top offense and second-ranked defense. The Dubs never trailed in the opener and followed a rocky first half in Game 2 with a 69-48 advantage after intermission.
"While Curry continues to mend from a knee injury, the Warriors continue to make a convincing case that they don't need him, at least not now, maybe not ever in the first round or even the second," NBA.com's Shaun Powell wrote. "Coach Steve Kerr made an interesting observation weeks ago after Curry went down, that they were good enough to beat anyone without him. So far, so...prophetic."
Golden State hasn't resolved every issue. There have been some clunky stretches, and any questions regarding scoring and shooting depth have gone unanswered (more on that later).
That said, the Curry-less Warriors look like they have more than enough to topple the Kawhi Leonard-less Spurs and whatever awaits in the conference semis.
JaVale McGee: Center Du Jour
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Throughout the season, Golden State had less of a rotation and more of a revolving door at center. While David West typically held his post as the second team's anchor, JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia and Jordan Bell all served stints as the starting 5.
But the starting-center carousel has landed on McGee to start this series, a development that might be the most surprising of his up-and-down campaign. In last year's playoffs, he barely saw the floor against these same Spurs and logged 35 minutes over four games. He's already hit that number in half as many outings and own's the club's highest net rating at a whopping plus-36.2 points per 100 possessions.
"You have to know, especially with this team, that your time will come," McGee said, per Melissa Rohlin of the Bay Area News Group. "You never know, next series I might not play at all and I'm not going to sit there and pout."
Pachulia has been the odd man out so far. Bell has played both games but only for a total of eight minutes. West has handled a predictably steady workload (16 minutes in the opener, 14 in the next), although an ankle sprain sidelined him late in the second matchup.
Like McGee said, though, this is all subject to change. His length and athleticism have helped bother LaMarcus Aldridge (as much as an All-Star can be bothered, at least). But round two could push someone else to the front of the line. Pachulia's muscle might be the best match for Jusuf Nurkic, while Bell's mobility could be the right counter for Anthony Davis.
Biggest Question Mark: Bench Scoring
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Golden State has scored 229 points in this series; the starting five has poured in 177 of them. That's 77.3 percent of the offensive production, which seems a staggering amount when only two of the openers—Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson—can be classified as scorers.
Then again, it's not like this second unit is particularly sparky. West, Bell, Shaun Livingston and Kevon Looney don't have point-production at (or, in some cases, even near) the tops of their to-do list. That's more the responsibilities of Quinn Cook and Nick Young, who've gone a combined 5-of-17 overall (29.4 percent) and 3-of-9 from distance (33.3) while putting up 14 points in 55 minutes.
This has been a surprising cold spell from Cook, who had an impressive cameo as Curry's replacement—or sous chef—down the stretch. He entered the playoffs having scored double-digits in 14 of his final 15 games, shooting 51.8 percent (50 from three) over that stretch. But he's adjusting back to a bench role, and he's still helping in other areas (zero turnovers, plus-11 in 43 minutes).
Young, though, continues to underwhelm as a potential source of instant offense. He has yet to bounce back from a frigid second half (36.2 percent shooting after the All-Star break) and is struggling to maintain even a fringe rotation spot (12 minutes in two games). But with Patrick McCaw still sidelined by a lumbar-spine contusion, Young is the only traditional wing among Golden State's reserves.
This is as top-heavy as Golden State's offense has been all season. That's fine for this round, but the Dubs could require more scoring support going forward.
Klay Thompson: Rested and Roasting
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Give a three-point marksman the option of fracturing the thumb on his shooting hand or not, and he'll take the latter 15 times out of 10.
But that same scenario played out for Thompson last month, and he's seemingly emerged the better for it.
"The injury may have helped him a little bit," Kerr said, per Bay Area News Group's Daniel Brown. "He finally got some time off. Klay has to defend the opponent's best guard night-in, night-out. He never misses a game. ... So I think in hindsight, it probably wasn't the worst thing for him to get a few weeks off because he looks really, really fresh and sharp right now."
Thompson never had a better shooting season from the field (48.8 percent) or long distance (44.0). But he's taken his accuracy to comical levels in this series, essentially going from a splash sibling to a torrential downpour. He's hitting 69.7 percent of his field goals and 71.4 percent of his triples, while nearly matching San Antonio's three-point output as a team (10 makes to the Spurs' 13).
This is Thompson's unguardable version, a player previously responsible for a 37-point quarter and 60 points in 29 minutes. If he doesn't dribble before shooting, he's converting at a 73.7 percent clip. If he does, he's still burying 64.3 percent. He's shooting 70.6 percent when he has at least four feet of space, but when he doesn't, he's still at 68.8.
With Curry sitting, the Dubs need a dominant scorer to pair with Durant and an unconscious shooter to bend the defense. Thompson is checking both boxes.
Andre Iguodala: Playoff Mode Engaged
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Andre Iguodala is the playoff switch personified.
Seasoned marathoners don't pace themselves as well as Golden State's 34-year-old swingman. Despite finishing this season with career lows in minutes (25.3), points (6.0) and player efficiency rating (11.2), he's been one of the Warriors' most pivotal players since the postseason started.
Frankly, he's making this stuff an art form. He was a 28.2 percent three-point shooter this year; suddenly, he's 5-of-7 in this series (71.4 percent). He had the second-lowest usage percentage of his career (11.5); now, the lifelong wing has the offense in his hands as the stand-in starting point guard. Oh, and this attack has been 10.7 points better per 100 possessions with him than without.
"I just like his poise," Durant said, per Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle. "He's a veteran leader for us, a guy (who) kind of just keeps it real with everybody. That's something we all need. ... Even if he's not making shots, he adds so much value with his energy, his deflections, his rebounds."
Of course, when Iguodala is making shots, then anything seems possible for this team. While two games isn't the largest sample size, this isn't the first time we've seen this surge. During his first season with Golden State, Iggy averaged 7.8 points on 46.6 percent shooting. By that June, he was accepting Finals MVP honors after putting up 16.3 points on 52.1 percent shooting over that six-game series.
This is his time to earn the three-year, $48 million deal he landed his last summer, and history likes his chances to do so.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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