Golden State Warriors Preview and 76ers Recap

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors celebrate against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on November 4, 2013

By: Matt Tuckness

110-90 and boy was it another beauty. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to watch this warrior’s team. Not only because they have a good chance of winning but because they have the two most exciting shooters in the league. Stephen Curry is the heart and soul of this team. He may already be the most complete 3 point shooter of all time. The only things that will prevent him from being the best 3 point shooter of all time are his fragile ankles. What truly separates Steph from Ray Allen (the greatest 3 point shooter of all time) is his ability to make 3’s consistently off the dribble.

Check out this graphic on Steph- http://ow.ly/qp6Fy. He truly is an Alien from behind the Arc. He had a wonderful night tonight with his second career triple double pulling down his 10th rebound in the third quarter to reach the mark. He was a little cool from 3, but that can be expected since he came into the game shooting 59% from behind the arc.

There are two major issues with Steph that didn’t surface as much tonight against a bad 76ers team. I know the Sixers are 3-1, but the bobcats were 7-5 last year before they finished 21-61. The first issue is Steph’s ridiculously high turnover rate. He is doing a better job this year of creating, but he is turning the ball over too much. The Warriors team as a whole has this issue, but Steph is the worst offender. The turnovers kept the Sixers in the game for the first 10 minutes until the talent-laden Warriors pulled away.

Turnovers are what lost them the Clippers game and if they don’t find a way to reduce them against better teams the Warriors will have a serious issue come playoff time. This is not an issue of fast paced play, rather, an example of careless play. Steph’s second flaw is his inability to play on ball defense against good point guards. Any team that has three solid perimeter players will cause problems for the Warriors. Steph is, and always will be a liability on defense and will be the biggest question for the Warriors in the playoffs.

Klay Thompson is an emerging star in this league on both sides of the ball. He bothers the best guard on the other team, which in turn, allows Steph to focus on offense. He did a good job of keeping Michael Carter Williams (a 20 point scorer through three games) quiet for most of the night. He is also deadly from behind the 3 point line. Klay’s biggest flaw is offensive consistency. We saw this in the San Antonio series last year and have already seen it this year with a 38 point performance followed by a 10 point performance. If Klay can increase his consistency and not disappear in the big moments he will launch himself into star status.

Andre Iguodala had a huge night tonight. He was two points off his career high, yet was able set a career high in made threes with 7. Iggy brings a lot to the table for this Warriors team. He is a great ball handler and passer, which relieves some of the Steph’s on-ball responsibilities. He doesn’t completely replace the Jarret Jack role from last year because he doesn’t run with the second group very much. However, he does increase the Warriors crunch-time line up. We probably can’t expect 32 points from Iggy every night, but any scoring we do get from him is a big bonus.

Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors in action against the Los Angeles Lakers at ORACLE Arena on October 30, 2013 in Oakland, California.

I also like the combination of David Lee and Andrew Bogut in the front court. They complement each other very well. Bogut has shown through four games that he is an elite rim protector and defender down low. He makes up for Lee’s nonexistent defense. On the other end of the floor, the reverse is true; Lee has looked great from 15 feet and closer and has made up for Bogut’s lack of offense.

The only problem I have seen so far is the Warriors poor effort on the defensive glass. The Warriors have lost the offensive rebound battle in every game this season. The issue reared its ugly head the most during the Clippers game. The responsibility to control the paint down low falls to Lee and Bogut. Lee did average double digit rebounds last year, but truly is an average rebounder. For the Warriors to go far this year, both he and Bogut need to improve on the glass.

Finally, the Warriors bench. The clear MVP early on this season is Draymond Green. He has shown improvement from behind the arc and is the best defender in the Warriors second lineup. However, the biggest question regards the return of Harrison Barnes and how he will fit in the line-up. Barnes will provide more offense for a second group that has struggled to score. I think playing in the reserves will allow for Barnes to truly grow as a player, who showed glimpses of greatness last season. It will be his group to run and he will be the primary scoring option. Although Barnes isn’t great at creating his own offense, coming off the bench gives him the opportunity to rectify that weakness and provide an added spark for the Warriors. The sixth man has proven to be such a vital part of any championship the past few years that if Barnes can grow into that role, the Warriors will be a team to be reckoned with.

This Warriors team has blown out 3 below average teams and lost its one test. They have excellent chemistry and are lights out from behind the arc. They need to improve upon on a few areas to reach the 50 win mark and be a true contender for the Championship. As they are built right now I think they would make some noise in the playoff, but I want more from this team because they are capable of it. One thing is for sure, it’s going to be fun watching the Warriors bomb it from long range.