Undefeated. 5 – 0.
This is where the Warriors are. Under the helm of new head coach Steve Kerr, the Golden State Warriors have got off to the best start in 20 years, and hope to extend this great beginning tonight against the Phoenix Suns.
The Warriors won their fifth game against the undermanned Houston Rockets (also undefeated till the matchup), missing star center Dwight Howard, along with Terrence Jones and Patrick Beverly. Now, given the Warriors previous performances, dealing with this temporary new look Rockets should have been a breeze.
Yet, it was a struggle to get the victory, which brings us to the questions: What went wrong and why did they still win?
What Went Wrong?
First and foremost, turnovers. As Kerr and his coaching staff have stressed, they need to cut down on turnovers. Twenty-six turnovers really is unacceptable for a team that is eyeing a top spot and with high expectations. The game was played sloppily. Many times, passes that should’ve been easy layups were just dropped and went out of bounds. (Though, we have to give some credit to the Rockets. They did play solid defense.) The Warriors got somewhat lucky this time that the Rockets were unable to capitalize on all of their mistakes, but I hope this is a wake up call for them — sloppy play is dangerous.
The other thing that really went awry was, well, the entire first half. It was choppy (resembling the beginning of the season opener against Sacramento) and again, sloppy. Fouls were called frequently and it was hard for the Warriors to get in rhythm for their style of play. The Rockets launched many long threes, and long shots lead to long rebounds — rebounds that the Warriors lost on their side of the court almost every time in the first half. This is where the Warriors miss David Lee the most. Despite his defensive woes, he’s a pretty great rebounder and would certainly have capped the second chance opportunities for the Rockets.
Why Did the Warriors Win?
Stephen “I Can Hit Step Back Threes Over 7-Foot Defenders” Curry — though he had a decent first half, he really showed up in the second half. He finished the game with an insane 34 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assist, 4 steals — all of this on an insanely efficient 85.5% true shooting. That is absurd, to say the least. His stat line speaks for itself, and there really isn’t much else to say besides he was phenomenal.
The defense for the team was great too. The Warriors held the Rockets to a mediocre 35% shooting and 24% from behind the arc. They also forced 22 turnovers. Even if the Warriors were turning over the ball a bit too much, at least they stopped the Rockets from scoring on those turnovers.
We should also mention Andrew Bogut. He had a much needed 18 rebounds, along with four big blocks. Kerr’s transformation of Bogut’s role in the Warriors’ offense is clear, and his value is hard to measure on both sides of the floor.
The Warriors take on the Phoenix Suns tonight, and hopefully after a bit of self-reflection, they won’t have to rely on big minute performances from their stars to get their sixth win.