Lee, Barnes, and Landry are given multiple opportunities on mid-wing isos as well as in the low post, while Curry has a license to shoot at anytime from anywhere.
For the most part, the team is unselfish and looks to share the ball. Kick-out passes and ball-reversals look to generate a multitude of 3-point shots. Led by Curry’s long-range bombing, their 39.1 percent accuracy from beyond the arc trails only three of the NBA’s powerhouse teams—Miami, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio.
Even so, the Warriors are most effective when they can get out and go. Indeed, their explosive fast breaks are fueled by Lee’s boardwork.
Scoring is not a problem. Their points-per-game average is 101.75, seventh best in the league.
Their halfcourt defense is predicated on supplying quick help in the lane, as well as fast hands, and sudden poachings of passing lanes.
WEAKNESSES
Curry tends to overhandle and is rattled when he’s double-teamed. He’s much more of a shooter than a facilitator. On defense, his eagerness to rip opponents often compromises his balance.
Opponents routinely attack Lee’s under-par defense. Plus he gets lost when defending off-the-ball.
Thompson is a poor defender, and a one-dimensional shooter who tries too often to force his dribble into rush hour traffic.
Ezeli has no discernible offensive skills, shows limited lateral movement when opponents turn and face, and has difficulty playing defense without fouling.
Biedrins’ shooting range is as long as his arms.
Jack is too lead-footed to adequately defend the NBA’s abundance of warp-speed point guards.
Because they are so concerned with clogging the middle, the Warriors wing-coverage is extremely weak in defense of early offense situations.
With Biedrins and Ezeli, GS lacks a center a consistent commanding presence at either end of the floor. Accordingly, their team defense is mediocre—98.59 ppg allowed, 17th in the league.
If their iso game plan attracts double-teaming, too bad the Warriors are one of the worst passing outfits extant. As a result, too many turnovers led to too many breakout points for the bad guys.
Overall, Curry’s shot-making spreads the defense and is the key to the Warriors success. Credit all the players for competing from tip to buzzer, but their mostly predictable half-court sets, their abundant turnovers, their iffy foul-prone defense, and the unacceptable production from their centers limits their realistic expectations to advancing into the second round of the playoffs.
Still, for the first time in recent memory, the Warriors have a promising future.
Charley Rosen is an American author and former basketball coach. From 1983–1986, he was an assistant to Phil Jackson with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association. He also served as head coach of the Patroons, as well as the CBA’s Rockford Lightning, Oklahoma City Cavalry and Savannah Spirits. A native of The Bronx, N.Y., the 71-year-old Rosen is the author of 16 books about basketball. He is known for his in-depth analysis and caustic views.
Man it is good to see Charley Rosen back writing regular basketball posts. Missed you Sir.
Yeah, sometimes it helps to do a little actual research before venturing an opinion. Then again, there was probably a deadline.
Here’s the thing, unlike past years, the W’s are winning now because they’re playing great team ball on both offense and defense. They do a great job of moving the ball and only rarely rely on isolation. Have you actually seen them play since the Monta Ellis trade. From your comments, I’d say no.
Same is true on D, they’ve done an incredible job in improving their rebounding and help defense. They can actually shut teams down now, which believe me, I would not have said a year ago. When Bogut finally plays, they’ll be even better.
Not saying they’re going to win a title, but hopefully they’ll start turning a few heads. These are not the same old clowns, time to give them a bit of respect.
Wow, I have so many problems with this analysis, which seems like it comes from a very superficial look at this team. Have you really spent time watching the Warriors? As a fan of the team, I have. With all due respect, most of the “weaknesses” you mention are not accurate, at least when you dig a little deeper. I’ll just focus on a couple here.
” their team defense is mediocre—98.59 ppg allowed, 17th in the league.”
— numbers aside, are you watching the way the team gang-rebounds, contests shots, and provides help defense? This team hustles, and while they may give up too many perimeter shots, their paint defense is solid; better to get beat on lower-percentage outside shots than easy inside ones. And all this without their best interior defender (Bogut) and perimeter defender (Rush). Both David Lee and Steph Curry have held their own at their positions, and get help when they can’t. Harrison Barnes, Ezeli and Draymond Green are playing terrific individual and team defense.
“If their iso game plan attracts double-teaming, too bad the Warriors are one of the worst passing outfits extant.”
— What? Have you watched Curry, Jack and Lee pass the ball? This is a very good, unselfish basketball team. Yes there is some iso, but that happens when the player knows there’s a match-up to exploit. Otherwise, there is plenty of ball-movement on offense.
That’s it. I appreciate the write-up; I just wish you would watch a little more film.
agree with the other comment. The same thing applies to stat analysis of denver. That said, i would add that Ezeli has been terrific. Ok, no offense, but who cares. His defense has been excellent. Really exceptional considering he is a rookie. Thompson is indeed one dimensional but I think useful………barnes is a problem for me as his defense is often atrocious. He can catch and shoot, he plays hard, yeah yeah, but he is lost on defense. David Lee has dialed up his game several ticks. His defense is respectable now. Its smart. He wont ever be a defensive giant, but he’s not bad. Carl Landry was a great pick up. The guy has always been underrated. The complaint about him being undersized is unfair, in the same way people complain about tyler hansbrough. Psycho T is still a guy you want out there banging people, doing what he does. Landry is the same. Tough, savy, and a winner.
Nice article, however I’m not a big fan of your usage of points per game and points per game allowed as indicators for respectively offense and defense. As you might have noticed, the Warriors play their game at a higher pace than league average. This obviously results in more chances to either score or get scored on. Offensive and Defensive rating adjusts for pace difference, so it is a much better statistic to show the real offensive and defensive qualities of a NBA team.
Warriors rank 9th in the league in Offensive Rating (107.0) and 9th in the league in Defensive rating (103.7) as well. This shows that the Warriors are a much better defensive team than you just pointed out.
Source: Basketball-Reference