Warriors: Are sluggish starts a trend of the Steve Kerr era?

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 28: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors waits to check in while head coach Steve Kerr stands on the side of the court during the second half of their game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center on October 28, 2021 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 28: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors waits to check in while head coach Steve Kerr stands on the side of the court during the second half of their game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center on October 28, 2021 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
2 of 3
Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Warriors consistent trends

Now, how does that compare to their five-year run that culminated in three NBA championships and two Finals appearances? When it comes to the postseason, the Warriors finished fourth, eighth, second, seventh and first in first-quarter plus-minus between the 2015 and 2019 playoffs.

So, although their first-quarter issues weren’t as drastic as what they’re facing now, there were a couple of playoff runs (2016 and 2018) where they were a below-average first-quarter team despite being a great team overall.

That 2017-18 championship team had first-quarter concerns season-long. Their +0.6 in the playoffs was actually better than the dead even (0.0 – ranked 15th) plus-minus they had during the regular season.

This was a team that had four All-Stars and finished with a 58-24 record, yet still consistently failed to start games in the manner you’d expect.

Now, if we extrapolate this data into a first and second half contrast, we can easily assert that the Warriors are simply a far superior second-half team. This isn’t necessarily surprising – lesser talented teams, in most sports, can often compete early in a game before fading to the more talented, skilled team.

But the playoff numbers are too stark to simply put it down to this, especially given it’s a competitive playoff environment where numbers can’t be skewed significantly by playing really bad teams.