Are the Golden State Warriors Really as Good as Their 4-1 Record?
The Golden State Warriors' 4-1 start in this new season has finally began to erase some of the bitter taste left from last year's horrible effort, but can the Warriors maintain this pace or is this just a brief mirage?
Not surprisingly, the Warriors' change of fortunes can be traced to an improvement in the areas that haunted them most last season, specifically defense and poor rebounding.
The Warriors, who were near the bottom of the NBA last season in terms of rebounding, have done an about-face and now currently rank third in the league at 46.6 rebounds per game.
That's an impressive turn of events, but more importantly the Warriors are also holding their opponents to 102.6 points per game, which is the third best mark in the Western Conference.
Credit newcomer David Lee and his 12.2 rebounds per game with Golden State's resurgence on the boards, and forward Dorrell Wright and new coach Keith Smart should also be commended.
Smart has made an improved defense his primary objective, and Wright with his long, lanky frame and natural defensive instincts is just the type of player to implement the coach's way of thinking.
Wright has been a solid individual defender and the Warriors have continued to play the passing lanes well, as they average 9.2 steals per game which is good for fifth in the NBA.
Offense has never been the problem for the Warriors, and even though their scoring may be down from last season's pace, the shooting percentages have gone up for the backcourt duo of Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis.
Ellis is averaging a NBA-best 28.6 points per game while shooting an amazing 51.9 percent from the field, while Curry averages 20.3 points per game and sports an even more impressive shooting percentage of 54.8.
Wright has also proved to be a dependable secondary scorer with a strong 17.8 points per game, and when you add in Lee's 12.2 point per game average you have a core of players who are getting it done in each phase of the game.
So, is this a harbinger of things to come for the Warriors, or just a brief respite from the pain of the last several seasons?
Signs for the future are encouraging, but the Warriors still suffer from poor interior defense, and in the Warriors' lone loss Lee was held scoreless for the first time in recent memory.
Lee's scoring average is way down from last season's 20 points per game with the New York Knicks, and although no one expects him to equal those numbers with so many offensive weapons on the roster, he is the primary focus of Golden State's interior offense.
If the Warriors can work those issues out then their future prospects look bright, especially since Curry and Ellis have been two of the NBA's top guards thus far, and Wright has been more effective than anyone could have dreamed.
I'm not totally convinced the Warriors can sustain their performance for the duration of the season, but they are on the right path because they have focused their attention on the issues that needed it the most.
