The current NBA standings might not make the 4-3 Golden State Warriors — losers of back-to-back games against the Spurs and Grizzlies — stand out from the bunch, they are prepared for a long season and a deep run in the 2014 playoffs.
What’s different between this season and last?
The all-around addition of d0-it-all forward Andre Iguodala. And despite only playing seven games with the Warriors after an incredible season in Denver, a city that appeared well-suited to house Iguodala for years to come, is already feeling at home.
Starting to feel like home….
— Andre Iguodala (@andre) November 10, 2013
The faster head coach Mark Jackson can integrate Iggy, the faster the Warriors could begin their highly anticipated ascent to the top of the Western Conference.
While the Warriors are yet to set the league on fire, what’s important is that they are meshing correctly. And by all accounts, they are:
It looks like someone is going to be in position to drop 30 every night. Despite looking like he was born to play with this unit, Andre Iguodala will likely only get more comfortable playing with this unit offensively. And HBarnes just made his debut off the bench in last night’s game, which seriously diminished some of the concerns about the bench’s inability to score – Barnes hit the floor looking like he’s ready to make up for time lost due to injury. And we have yet to see a number of lineup combinations that Jackson will have at his disposal with Barnes ready to go.
We are quick to forget that last years Nuggets’ team – strikingly similar in several regards to these Warriors — started 11-12 with Iguodala working his way into their run-and-gun style.
But despite the slow start they ended up winning a franchise record 57 games.
With Iguodala, the Warriors could be that good.
It’s only a matter of time.
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Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.