Golden State Warriors becoming a nightmare matchup

For the Golden State Warriors, this season was all about hitting their stride at the perfect time. With Dubs’ basketball in full swing, this team is becoming a nightmare matchup for whoever they face in the playoffs.

The Golden State Warriors have won four out of their last five. Let’s break down why the Dubs are peaking at precisely the right time.

A nail-biting showdown in Boston nearly saw the Dubs extend their win streak to five. Unfortunately, a few late-game blunders tossed a 47 point eruption from Stephen Curry down the drain.

Nonetheless, the Warriors stand at 28-29 on the season and are right in the thick of things out West. Their sights have been set on remaining in the play-in tournament but recent streaks have put them in position to battle out of the tourney altogether, sitting roughly four games back from the six-seeded Portland Trail Blazers (who have the fourth toughest schedule remaining).

The Warriors would have to leapfrog both the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks in order to pull this off but it’s a real possibility with 16 games and a favorable schedule remaining for Golden State.

Ignoring where they finish the regular season, it’s becoming hard to overlook the way Golden State has been playing lately. Check out their league rankings since Stephen Curry’s return in Atlanta.

Warriors rankings since April 6:

• 122.8 Points Per Game (2nd)
• 30.6 Assists Per Game (1st)
• +15 Plus/Minus (1st)
• 14.3 Net Rating (1st)
• 118.5 Offensive Rating (4th)
• 104.3 Defensive Rating (3rd)

Everything is just clicking for the Dubs. Aside from Curry being on quite literally the hottest shooting streak of all time, the Warriors’ supporting cast is simply stepping up every time their support is needed.

All of that length the Dubs added in the offseason is finally paying off. The never-ending cycle of 3-and-D prospects like Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre, Damion Lee, Juan Toscano-Anderson is making life difficult for opposing perimeter players. Add in versatile defenders like Draymond Green and Kevon Looney to boost this team to the upper-echelon in terms of perimeter defense.

Their bench unit is doing more than just defending – they are scoring at a high rate too. Jordan Poole is posting nearly 15 points per game over his last 20 and has been a consistent threat to shoot the 3-pointer.

All the while, Wiggins is continuing to make subtle strides as a role player. He’s growing more and more comfortable as a tertiary scorer, averaging an efficient 20.6 points since midway through March.

Timely contributions from the veteran Kent Bazemore and surprising producers like Nico Mannion and Gary Payton II have this team on the verge of bursting at the seams. Had it not been for James Wiseman’s injury, the Warriors would have a startling amount of depth considering how they started the season.

As usual, Draymond has been the hidden driving force behind so much of the Warriors’ success. Over his last seven games, Green is racking up 9.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He’s doing all of the little things and acting as a necessary secondary ball-handler for Curry.

Don’t worry, we saved the best for last. Curry has scored 30+ points in 10 straight games and is looking like the greatest player on the planet. He recorded his 20th game of 10+ 3-pointers against Boston, placing him leagues above everyone else on the list.

An x-factor like Curry is enough to win a play-in tournament game alone. Combine this with timely performances from the Warriors’ supporting cast and no team is going to have an easy time handling the Dubs this postseason.