The Golden State Warriors have impressed in a 10-3 record to start the season, yet the team's good form and improvement has come in a different way than many had envisioned.
After failing to acquire a true second star during the offseason, many looked at the individual development of the younger players as the area in which the Warriors would see a major boost. Instead, it's the sheer depth, the elite defense and the range of scoring options that has seen Golden State surprise many in the first month of the season.
The Warriors have a familiar issue with their young players
The enormous roster depth is coming at a cost though. While a quartet of Golden State young players are each in the rotation, they're clearly not contributing to a level fans and they themselves would have expected. In some cases, they've even taken steps back from last season's production.
Steve Kerr used five players for at least 23 minutes in Monday's loss to the L.A. Clippers, including Lindy Waters III who had been out of the rotation prior to De'Anthony Melton's recent injury. That five-man group didn't include Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski or Trayce Jackson-Davis, all of whom played less than 20 minutes.
There's various storylines around all four young players -- Kuminga has played well for much of the season but not to the level many expected, with his bench role clearly not ideal for the 22-year-old heading into restricted free agency next offseason.
Moody did sign an extension prior to the October 21 deadline, yet has been shunted back towards the back of the rotation and hasn't played more than 17 minutes in any of the last eight games despite shooting over 45% from 3-point range on the season.
Jackson-Davis is starting but has only played more than 20 minutes in three of the 13 games. It can't be ignored how much his presence helps Draymond Green have an enormous defensive impact, yet questions remain on whether the 24-year-old can be the starting five on a good playoff team right away.
Podziemski is arguably the biggest concern of the four, particularly after the Warriors were so notably eager to hold onto him throughout trade speculation in the offseason. The second-year guard has seen his averages drop in most key statistical categories, with Podziemski's shooting efficiency (38/19/60 splits) clearly the biggest issue.
Discussion around Golden State's young players and a lack of playing time has generally been a constant theme over the past few years, so this is not at all a new issue. However, it is a little different in a sense that previously fans would be criticizing Kerr and yearning for the youth to see more on-court action, but right now it's more a case of those young players simply not playing well enough to warrant more minutes.
The form of the young players has reignited the debate on whether the Warriors should cash them in for a star player before the February 6 trade deadline. The problem with that is their value is only heading south right now rather than up as many may have visualized heading into the season.
It's an issue for the Warriors right now -- not a glaring one so long as they keep winning, but one that could explode into becoming far more problematic if they can't sustain their strong start as a team.