After a loss to the Spurs, the Golden State Warriors are now .500. They’re barely on the edge of the playoff race in the West. Are they a top-ten NBA team?
The Golden State Warriors dropped their most-recent game to the San Antonio Spurs, setting their record to an even 12-12. With that loss, it’s time to take a look at if this team is among the ten best in the NBA.
They’ll get another game with them tonight, and while it’s not a must-win situation, the Warriors need to get back on track. It’s tough for a team that relies on Stephen Curry to drop 50 in order for them to win.
Despite that being somewhat the case, are the Golden State Warriors a top-ten team in the NBA?
The Dubs have the 15th-best net rating.
They’re actually the first of negative territory which doesn’t bode well for them, but when looking at that, we must remember their first two blowout losses which were in part because Draymond Green was out and Stephen Curry was still getting his footing.
The Warriors have typically beaten teams they should and have a few solid wins on top of that. Now, teams like San Antonio are where Golden State must draw the line. They needed to be better last night, and they’ll hopefully get redemption.
Splitting the two games with Dallas, beating the Lakers and Clippers, and showcasing an ability to go toe-to-toe with some of the top teams in the league, it’s easy to make a case that they are a top-ten team in the NBA, but the consistency just isn’t there.
Now, what the Warriors do have going for them to make them in top-ten contention is that they had the most difficult schedule in the first quarter of the season. They played the Clippers multiple times, Lakers, Nuggets, Clippers, Bucks, and Nets all within that first stretch of the season.
That should also be considered when looking at this discussion.
Another thing that must factor in is just the greatness of Stephen Curry. From dropping over ten threes against the Mavs to a career-high 62 points against the Blazers, Curry has been his MVP-level self this season after playing just five games last season.
Curry is the reason that there aren’t ten other teams better than the Warriors.
There could easily be five or six that are better and even a handful like Los Angeles and Brooklyn that you could make the case are light years ahead of where Golden State is now, but when it comes down to it, any opponent won’t be wanting to see Golden State in the playoffs.