The Golden State Warriors are playing much better basketball than they were at the beginning of the season, but they have yet to reach their ceiling. The team has at least one more level they can elevate to before the playoffs begin.
Early in the year, critics were quick to write off the Dubs as a lost hope with Klay Thompson out for the season. Stephen Curry’s early struggles and consecutive blowout losses had everyone feeling confident that the Warriors would plummet to the NBA Draft Lottery once again.
Then, Curry did what he’s been known to do. He’s rattled off one of the best individual seasons of his career thus far and the rest of the team is starting to catch up as the Warriors take the first step towards hitting their stride.
The Golden State Warriors have improved quite a bit since December but we still haven’t seen this team at their true peak.
Steve recently spoke on the newfound harmony the Warriors are playing with and how he believes the team has yet to hit their ceiling.
"“We’ve had some tough losses, but every game I feel like we are headed in the right direction in terms of really turning it on and turning the corner. Hopefully in two games I’m not saying the same thing. It’s the process and journey that we’re on as a team. I really believe we are close to breaking through.”Via NBC Sports"
Their record as of late doesn’t exactly reflect growth, but we have to look at the big picture. Though the Warriors are just 6-6 this month and 1-2 in their last three, the team is seeing notable improvements from Kelly Oubre, Andrew Wiggins and James Wiseman. Oubre and Wiggins have been blazing on both ends of the floor while Wiseman 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds since moving to the bench.
As Wiseman and Kevon Looney both return to the lineup after brief injuries, we have a chance to see the Warriors play with a full rotation once again. The quality contributions from Kent Bazemore and Eric Paschall only further reinforce their second unit, which ranks in the top-10 for scoring this season.
Experience is something you can’t cheat. The Warriors supporting cast has only improved with the more playing time they’ve received. A beautiful example of this is Juan Tuscano-Anderson, who averaged 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds as a stater during this recent stretch.
Obviously, there’s still Curry who has scored more total points than anybody this season. He’s firing on all cylinders and extra help around him will only make it more difficult for opponents to slow him down.
As for Draymond Green, he may be struggling to score but he’s creating plays at a career-high rate. Green is dishing 11.0 assists per game since February 4 and it’s a result of growing chemistry between him and his teammates.
We really haven’t seen this team play at full strength for too long. They’ve only played 32 games together after a rushed training camp in the offseason. It’s perfectly reasonable to assume the best is yet to come for this Warriors team.