Warriors: Is being top-heavy going to a problem?

The Golden State Warriors are one of the league’s most top-heavy teams. Will this be a problem in the future of their historic dynasty?

There aren’t many teams in the NBA that are as top heavy as the Golden State Warriors. It was blatantly obvious in last night’s game against the Mavericks, a game where Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry scored every single one of the team’s first-quarter points.

All 25 first-quarter points and 76 of the team’s 119 points overall, Durant and Curry have made last night’s performance the norm. While they typically also get help from Klay Thompson, the Dubs don’t have many other players that step up when those two falter.

The Golden State Warriors are the league’s only team with three 20-point scorers. They’re also the only team with two players that average over 25 points, possessing two of the four players that score over 28 per game.

Then, it gets worse when you look at how poorly the rest of their scores. After Thompson, Durant, and Curry, the Warriors don’t have a single player that scores over ten points per game. This type of top-heaviness is rare, and it might not be a good thing.

While we can typically count of Curry, Durant and Thompson not to have several straight poor shooting performances, it is possible. Against a stifling Lakers’ defense on Christmas Day, we caught a glimpse of the catastrophe that could be waiting for Golden State.

In that game, the trio combined for 41 points, significantly less than the around 80 points of production they’re used to from them. That resulted in a 26-point home loss on national television, shocking both the Warriors and their loyal fanbase.

It’s difficult to compare teams to Golden State. They’re a unique breed of some of the league’s top talent all on one team. That said, one of the closest teams to Golden State dominance-wise is the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls only had three scores average double figures and just one put up over 25 points per game. Although, while they counted on Jordan for almost everything, he didn’t fail them as they lost just three games throughout the entire postseason.

So, yes, on a game-by-game basis throughout the regular season, the Warriors not having a deep, highly impactful bench won’t hurt them in the postseason, or at least it didn’t hurt Jordan’s Bulls.

While it’s impossible to predict the future, we can put our faith in the efficiency, production and dominance of the Warriors Big 3.