The Golden State Warriors are the best team in the NBA and a major reason why has been their health.
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The Warriors have been extremely fortunate healthwise whereas many of their competitors in the West have dealt with major injuries. The Warriors’€™ potential first round opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder, may have been hit the hardest this season with Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant, all missing major time. Westbrook is back from injury and playing at an elite level but Ibaka may not return this season and Durant is out four to six months with a foot injury.
December 18, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after an injury against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Other contenders have also dealt with significant injuries including the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, and San Antonio Spurs. The only other contending team that has not dealt with major injuries is the Memphis Grizzlies but their play is a bigger issue at the moment. The Rockets have been without Dwight Howard most of the season. The Blazers have been without LaMarcus Aldridge for an extended period of time and have lost Wesley Matthews for the season. The Clippers have been without Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford for a huge chunk of time and the Spurs played half the season without a healthy Kawhi Leonard. But the Warriors have not had to deal with the problem of a major injury and it has fueled their success.
The Warriors did have one major injury occur but it was more of a blessing in disguise. David Lee suffered a hamstring injury in training camp, giving Draymond Green the opportunity to start at power forward. When Lee became healthy, the Warriors were off to their best start in franchise history and Green was one of the major reasons why they were so successful. There was no way Coach Steve Kerr could take out Green, who was playing with incredible confidence at both ends of the floor and becoming the heartbeat of the organization. So Kerr left Green in the starting five and the Warriors haven’€™t looked back.
The depth of the team is why this team has stayed healthy. The bench is probably the best in the league, with many of them being suitable starters for other teams including former All-Stars David Lee and Andre Iguodala.
The depth of the team is why this team has stayed healthy. The bench is probably the best in the league, with many of them being suitable starters for other teams including former All-Stars Lee and Andre Iguodala. The depth has allowed the Warriors coaching staff to play their starters less minutes with no player averaging over 33 minutes per game. To put that in prospective, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each averaged over 35 minutes last season and seemed to have worn down by the end of last season.
The Warriors have achieved this by destroying their opponents on a nightly basis, outscoring them by an incredible 10.8 points per game. Only the Chicago Bulls of the early 1990s and the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers of the early 1970s have had higher point differentials than the Warriors. The Bulls and Lakers went on to win NBA championships with only the Bucks not achieving that goal, but the reason why they did not win a NBA championship was because their opponent were the Lakers. So the Warriors’€™ point differential this season has been historic and may be a sign of things to come. This point differential has led to the Warriors resting their entire starting five in countless fourth quarters because they were so dominant through three. When you do not play heavy minutes, you do not suffer injuries.
Only 4 teams in the HISTORY of the NBA finished with a better point differential than what the Warriors are putting up through 73 games.
— Made in Golden State (@MadeInGoldenSt) March 31, 2015
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The Warriors have also been very cognizant of their veterans, resting them when necessary. Andrew Bogut and Iguodala have been the main recipients of this treatment and they have never looked healthier than they do now with the postseason approaching. With the regular season drawing to a close, the Warriors are completely healthy and that is extremely important to a long playoff run. The Warriors final regular goal should is to be completely healthy entering the postseason and if they manage this correctly, we are in for a wild and fun ride this spring.