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Are the Golden State Warriors better or worse than their record shows?

By Nathan Beighle

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Kelly Oubre Jr. #12 of the Golden State Warriors passes during a 115-113 Warrior win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Staples Center on January 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Kelly Oubre Jr. #12 of the Golden State Warriors passes during a 115-113 Warrior win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Staples Center on January 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The Golden State Warriors are currently sitting at 11-9. In a tough Western Conference, they’re in playoff contention, but will they stay there?

The 2020-2021 NBA season has gone pretty smoothly so far. While there have been some troubles, the league, and more specifically the Golden State Warriors, haven’t been hit too hard by them quite yet.

As for Golden State, they’ll be entering their 21st game of the season with an 11-9. As they welcome the Celtics, the Warriors will thankfully look forward to an easier stretch after they take on the Boston Celtics.

That said, through about a quarter of the season, there are many teams in both conferences that have been far below expectations. The Mavericks in the West and the Raptors and Heat in the East just haven’t been where many expected them to be.

But, for the Warriors, they are surging as a team and blowout out expectations, many of which placed the team among the worst in the Western Conference. But, there’s still much more basketball to be played.

With 11 wins, there’s reason to believe the Warriors are better than their record shows. For starters, they’ve had the league’s hard strength of schedule through their first 20 games and have still come out with wins over the Lakers and Clippers.

The Warriors rank 13th in points per game and bounce into the top ten in threes per game. What’s always separated the Warriors from other franchises is their ability to buy into Steve Kerr‘s system, and they’ve continued to do that — ranking in the top five in assists.

Golden State is also outside of the top ten in turnovers per game. So, while they’re not elite in many areas outside of assists, their ability to share the ball has oftentimes led them to victory. Another underrated factor of this team is their ability to defend.

The Warriors rank 11th in defensive rating. With Andrew Wiggins stepping up his game and leading the team in blocks along with the addition of James Wiseman, the Warriors may just have one of the most underrated defenses in the NBA.

Combine their offense behind Stephen Curry and their defense with Wiseman and Wiggins along with Draymond Green to get it going on both ends, and you have a roster that will compete and could easily have had 12-14 wins through their 20.

Next. Top 30 Golden State Warriors players in franchise history. dark

It should get easy, and hopefully, the Warriors will be able to rally off a few win streaks. For now, the team has seen Curry become an ironman, but if that changes, so will the fact that this team is better than their 11-9 record.

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