No Klay Thompson yet, but Warriors have been close to clinical

Klay Thompson is expected to take the hardwood for the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 9. That means Dubs fans will have to be content watching him shoot hoops during the warm-up against the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans.

Despite his absence, the team, now 29-7, and still standing pretty at the top of the Western Conference standings have been near consistent and close to clinical.

Even without Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors have consistently played the best basketball of any team in the NBA this season.

Agreed that their close win against the Miami Heat isn’t their best, and credit to Erik Spoelstra’s men for playing with the dogged determination. But a win is a win and the Warriors will look for a better outing against the Mavs.

When we say close to clinical, it’s primarily because of the sort of performances dished out against some of the best-performing teams they have played in the season so far.

The Chicago Bulls, courtesy of two buzzer-beater wins by DeMar DeRozan are now first in the Eastern Conference standings but were beaten comprehensively by the Warriors (The final score was 119-93).

The Brooklyn Nets, now second, tasted defeat as well and were held to 99 while Golden State notched up 117. They had some luck against the Heat especially after Jimmy Butler exited with a rolled ankle, and are yet to play the Milwaukee Bucks who are 25-14 right now.

The best of the West have been pipped as well. The Phoenix Suns lost two of their three tussles and the Utah Jazz, sans Thompson and Green, was edged out 123-116.

Their next bunch of games are against opponents who have had some inconsistent runs. Having separated from the pack with a healthy run already, the Warriors will look to consolidate further. That they did it without their ace is what makes their run so far commendable.

With 29 wins from 36 games, Steph Curry & Co have an 80% win record so far, the highest in the league at present. Note that this was a team that was scrapping wins last season.

What’s changed for the Warriors in NBA 2021-22?

Now, Curry might have been the man who played as if every game was his last and breezed past milestones in the process, but it was also their roster, that may not make some massive moolah as their big names, but punched their weight and played their roles to perfection.

Note that much of these players were either acquired late or they were just picked up from the heap of players available.  For starters, Andrew Wiggins has managed to learn back the art of shooting (he landed two 3s to set the tone against Miami at the start). Otto Porter Jr started in place of Green on Saturday and ended with 20 points in their 123.

Gary Payton II was a fringe player and then was the 15th man to fill the slot, only to become a helluva defensive presence and also comes in with a 60+ shooting percentage. Jordan Poole has been the perfect foil for Curry.

Throw in Andre Igoudala, Damion Lee, Kevon Looney, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Nemanja Bjelica — players who made an impact the minute they were subbed in. The bench is their secret to success, providing their aging superstars the much-needed juice.

Thompson’s comeback will invariably see the minutes of some of these players decrease, but that’s not to say it will dip their performance sharply keeping in mind the form they’re in.

With the second splash brother surely playing limited minutes till he works his way to becoming his Aston Martin Vantage self,  this is a side that’s inching to being a clinical outfit, something they absolutely weren’t in the last season.