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5 surprises key to Golden State Warriors’ success

By Evan Quarnstrom

Dec 23, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) gestures after shooting a three-point basket during the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) gestures after shooting a three-point basket during the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Golden State Warriors (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Golden State Warriors (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The 2021-22 Warriors have outperformed all their pre-season predictions. A few surprising factors have anchored their early-season success.

Remember when FiveThirtyEight predicted that the Warriors would miss the playoffs this season? Well, the Dubs, currently 36-13 with the second-best record in the league, are one win away from matching the 37-45 record that FiveThirtyEight foresaw. (No matter the outcome of this season, citing that prediction will never get old.)

Even ESPN, which predicted a modestly better 48-34 record for the Warriors, will be considerably off the mark barring no major incidents for the remainder of the season.

Essentially, the ‘experts’ were way off about the Warriors, but why?

Did they underestimate the squad? Or did some astronomical, unforeseen events take place once the season got underway?

It’s probably somewhere in between those two extremes.

First off, doubting any Steph Curry-led team is a fool’s errand, and there have in fact been some pleasant surprises with the way the Dubs’ season has played out thus far.

Here are 5 surprises that have been key to their prosperity.

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