Rest May Have Been the Turning Point in the Golden State Warriors Season

With all the discussions about resting players in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors may have changed their season by resting their stars in San Antonio last week.

This week, Commissioner Adam Silver sent out a memo to the league’s board of governors and pressing owners to become more involved in whether a star rests. Silver insinuated that teams would be penalized for resting healthy players in the future. Former Commissioner, David Stern fined the San Antonio Spurs in 2012 for just this reason.

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This memo was sent out after the Warriors rested Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala in a blowout loss to the Spurs. The next weekend, the Cleveland Cavaliers did pretty much the same thing, resting LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in another blowout loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors and the Cavaliers upset Silver because these games were played on Saturday night. The Saturday night game has become the NBA’s new showcase and lack of stars hurt the ratings of ABC.

The Warriors had legitimate case for resting their stars in San Antonio. They were ending a stretch where they played eight games in eight different cities in less than two weeks, a ridiculous schedule. To end the trip, the Warriors played in Minnesota on Friday night, losing to the Timberwolves, 103-102. They, then, had to fly to San Antonio or an almost 1300 mile flight and play the next day.

Most back-to-backs are short flights with most occurring on the east coast. But the NBA asked the Warriors to basically fly halfway across the country and play the next day. That was not going to fly with Coach Steve Kerr. Kerr wisely told his stars that they would not be playing in San Antonio. The Warriors have not lost since the rest.

The rest came at the perfect time for the Warriors, especially for their stellar backcourt of Curry and Thompson. The duo shot under 30 percent from three-point range during that eight-game stretch and both were ready to get back home. The three-game homestand revitalized the team by giving them time to practice and getting back to a normal routine. Both Curry and Thompson found their stroke at Oracle and the rest of the team followed suit.  As a result, the Warriors have won their last five games by an average of almost 20 points per game. They got back in their flow and are playing unbelievable defense.

During the current five-game win streak, the Splash Brothers are shooting over 50 percent from three-point range, hitting a ridiculous 48 treys. The duo combined to hit 36 threes in the previous eight game stretch. While the Splash Brothers have been incredible, it is the bench that have really stepped their game, led by Iguodala.

Iguodala is not putting up double figures every night but it is his defense and his newfound athleticism that should make Warriors fans giddy. Iguodala’s defense has been there all season but his athleticism recently has been incredible. Other JaVale McGee, Iguodala is dunking more than anyone on this team, showing everyone he has not lost his bounce.

His newfound bounce is a result of his improved free throw shooting. Iguodala is shooting over 70 percent from the charity stripe. With that in mind, Iguodala has no fear, driving hard to the hoop and finishing strong. Iguodala dreaded going to the line in previous seasons due to his low percentage. This season,he has more confidence. His recent slams have reminded us of the Andre from Denver or even Finals MVP Andre.

While Iguodala has been stellar, the rest of the bench has been a revelation. In the past four games, the bench has averaged over 40 points per game. Iguodala is not the only guy that has a new bounce in his step. David West showed the team that he has a little bit left in the tank when dunked on three Mavericks on Tuesday night. McGee and Matt Barnes have also been essential during their current win streak.

There was one positive thing that came out of the debacle in San Antonio and that was Ian Clark. Clark scored a career-high 36 points in an otherwise meaningless game to everyone except for him. Since that game, Clark has shown the ability to drive to the hoop and get off his patented floater while cutting backdoor for countless layups. Clark regained his confidence in San Antonio, something he was struggling with for a couple months. His three-point stroke is not there right now but it will come. It is only a matter of time.

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With all of these positives and the team starting to hit on all the cylinders, the most positive sign may be that Durant may be ahead of schedule in his rehab process. It was thought that Durant would miss the first round of the postseason but all signs are pointing to him returning before the regular season ends.

This could be huge, especially considering that the Splash Brothers are rolling, the defense has been stellar and the bench has been very effective. Adding Durant will give the Warriors even more weapons and make them the undisputed favorites to win another championship. All because of a little rest in San Antonio. Now that is what you call a turning point.