Will the Golden State Warriors beat oddsmakers predictions?

Defense is the backbone

While everyone tends to focus on the teams with the star players and best offenses, one thing has remained true, defense wins.

The best teams tend to be good at defense. When the Warriors were running the sport, winning three championships in four seasons, they weren’t just dominant on offense. They were also dominating the other end of the court.

In the 2014-15 season, they were the number one rated defense when you adjust for pace. They kept up that defensive prowess throughout their championship run. That is why they had one of the highest margin of victory (MOV) ratings.

Now that team is attempting to reload quickly, finding players to replace Klay Thompson, Shaun Livingston, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala on the defensive end won’t be easy. But as Tony Pesta so eloquently explained that the Golden State Warriors might be sneaky good defensively.

The team has focused on bringing in players with long wingspans.

We tend to focus on a player’s height, but what really matters is their standing reach and wingspan. That is what helps Draymond be such a good defender, despite only being listed at 6-foot-6 tall; he has a 7-foot wingspan. That helps him cover players that are 3-6 inches taller than him.

Of the players they have brought in recently; Kent Bazemore, Marquese Chriss, Alen Smailagic and Andrew Wiggins, all have 7-foot wingspans. Kelly Oubre Jr., who only stands 6-foot-7 tall, has a 7-foot 3-inch reach. That is amazing length to surround Steph with.

Then there are the two big men Kevin Looney (7-foot 4 inches) and James Wiseman (7-foot 6 inches) which should provide good rim protection.

When you look at the teams projected to be better than them in the West. Aside from the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets and Jazz, the Warriors could be just as good or better on the defense than the rest.

Defense alone could help the Warriors get as high as 4th in the West.