The Warriors are back, for better or for worse | NBA

Since the start of training camp and preseason, Steve Kerr has been saying over and over again that this season’s roster, and rookies in particular, are perfect for returning to the playing identity he loves. This system brings many benefits but also involves weak points that the Warriors have always had difficulty in erasing.

Bob Myers didn’t go looking for stars to help Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but he did manage to pick up smart players and players who can charge opposing defenses.

The result is already obvious. The Warriors have a lot more room on the half court and when Stephen Curry is trapped, Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala, Moses Moody or Otto Porter Jr. are able to make the right decisions to make one, two, three extra passes. . After two games, the Warriors have 54 assists!

Stephen Curry’s Hot Shots

Like his perfect first quarter against the Clippers (25 points, 9 of 9 on shots), Stephen Curry is one of the constants on which Steve Kerr and the Warriors can rely. Draymond Green was also not surprised by the fireworks of his friend.

“This morning at the shootaround, he hadn’t missed anything” he laughs. “I knew it was going to happen. Moreover, even if he had missed all his shots this morning, after the match he made on Tuesday, it was certain that he would come back with the knife between his teeth. “

Already at an MVP level last season in a workforce much smaller than this one, Stephen Curry’s fireworks should be numerous this season.

The frustrating stray bullets and concentration swings

But since 2015, how many times have the Warriors taken a 20-point lead in the wake of an avalanche of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson before they started throwing back passes in the stands, making foul on 3-point shooters, or to return to the zone?

This is what happened last night against the Clippers. And although Draymond Green was keen to emphasize the quality and hardness of Ty Lue’s men’s defense, this is the second game in a row where the Warriors have lost at least 17 balls. This problem is the very consequence of the game Steve Kerr advocates and the freedom he gives to his players. Except this season’s Warriors don’t have the leeway they had between 2015 and 2019.

The Lakers and Clippers scored 19 and 18 points on Golden State’s stray balls, and that sort of mess creates a possessions deficit that could play tricks on the Warriors if this problem persists.

Andre Iguodala, the quiet force

The Chase Center’s standing ovation for one of its darlings during the teams presentation was enough to include number 9 in this article. Andre Iguodala is back, back home. Fans are thrilled about it, but not as much as Draymond Green and Stephen Curry.

« It’s amazing to have her with us again, Exclaimed the strong winger. ” He sees everything that happens on the pitch before everyone else, Stephen Curry added. While we could think that the veteran was returning to pre-retirement, he has shown since the start of the season that he can have a decisive role.

He’s reprized his babysitting role, to use an expression of second-five Steve Kerr, and he allows Golden State to end games with a confidence the team hasn’t seen since 2019.

“We know each other by heart and this familiarity is super important because you know you can count on him. At the end of the match, it was he who took Paul George out of his rhythm, ” Stephen Curry pointed out.

With Klay Thompson returning soon, and Andrew Wiggins as Harrison Barnes, the Warriors will be able to count on a five capable of playing both sides of the field to finish the games. They demonstrated it last night with the increased activity of Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala.

“At the end of the match, we put in a series of stops and that allowed us to be able to start in transition instead of attacking against a defense already in place as was the case after the first quarter,” described Draymond Green.

Stephen Curry en point d’exclamation

Speaking of the end of the game, the double MVP deserves two mentions. After a complicated mid-game, he took matters into his own hands in the dying minutes to give the Warriors a second win in two matches. His first shot on Marcus Morris is close to 10 meters, and the second, near the touchline, is very difficult.

But like the game against the Lakers and unlike last season, Golden State won’t always need a heroic Stephen Curry.

“I’ve already spoken to players about the concept of ‘Strength in Numbers’ and the context we were in six years ago,” Steve Kerr confessed. “This season’s team is built on the same mold. “