Five months ago, the best team in basketball, the Golden State Warriors, and the best player in basketball, Lebron James, competed against each other for the NBA Finals Championship. In six games the Golden State Warriors claimed the title as the best NBA team in basketball last season and they have continued to dominate so far in the 2015-16 NBA regular season. At 24-1, the Warriors have steamrolled their competition. In the Western Conference, the Warriors are in first place and have a four game lead over the second place team, the San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors have played 10 games at home and 15 games on the road. No matter where the Warriors have played, home or road, they have done very well. In all 10 of their home games the Warriors have scored over 100 points. The Warriors have allowed 100 points or more in only four home games this season. At Oracle Arena in the Bay Area, the Warriors dominated their competition and consistently won games at home. Only later in the season did the Warriors start to play very well on the road. In all of their games leading up to their one loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Warriors have scored at least 100 points. and in ten of their road games they have allowed 100 points or more. At 24-1 the Warriors have continued to be the best team in basketball both at home and on the road.
Golden State has continued to do well in the much tougher conference, but between seasons the organization did not choose to add any top-notch players. They also made sure to keep everybody from the Championship run. The Warriors’ biggest question during the offseason was whether they could keep Draymond Green. Many people thought that the Warriors would not be able to offer him the monster contract that he deserved and he would find another team to pay him. With the salary cap, they had to make sure that they could pay Stepehen Curry and Klay Thompson, and that left Green in a questionable area. The Warriors and Green agreed on a deal at five years and $85 million. The Warriors also kept players like Shaun Livingston and Festus Ezeli. Golden State kept that amazing core group of Thompson, Curry, Green and Andre Iguodala, and it paid off.
Everybody on the squad would tell you that competing and winning in the NBA is a team effort, but the star this team flows around has to be Curry. Curry’s performance this season at point guard has been the best of any player so far this season. Curry has not missed a start this season and plays about 34 minutes per game. Keep in mind that Coach Steve Kerr loves to rest his players, and although he is not coaching due to health reasons, his staff has probably kept a close eye on Curry’s minutes all throughout the season. Curry is also averaging around 32 points per game while shooting around 46% from the three point line and 90% from the free throw line. The Warriors would never have achieved this win streak with just Curry, but everyday he has proven to be their leader.
Green is probably the most versatile player on the Warriors because he can play so many positions, while always contributing good defense. He is the Warriors’ small forward, but he can hit clutch three pointers and at the same time drive in for an easy layup. He is certainly not the most flashy player on the Warriors, but he seems to always get the job done. Klay Thompson is the typical shooting guard for the team. He missed his first game against the Boston Celtics this season with an ankle injury. He shoots 43% from the three point line and is averaging around 17 points per game. As many Warriors fans know, Thompson is Curry’s “Splash Brother” and the two of them continue to impress from beyond the arch.
Finally, the Warrior’s sixth man is Iguodala. When first coming to the Warriors he had to completely change his role from a starter to a constant bench player, but he did it with integrity and enthusiasm. Iguodala, the reigning Fianls MVP, said he “embraced the role” of becoming the sixth man for the Warriors. He was a bench player for the Warriors last season until Kerr gave him the starting role in Game Three of the Finals to guard Lebron James. Up against the best player in basketball, Iguodala responded, and the Warriors went on to win three games in a row to secure their crown. Curry plays a heavy role in the offense of the Warriors, but the contributions of players like Green, Thompson, and Iguodala led the team to a 24-1 start. •
