Five games into the preseason and a few days away from the start of an 82-game marathon, a member of Dub Nation might wonder: Are there more facets of this Golden State Warriors team to be encouraged by or concerned about? Even an optimistic fan should agree on the latter.
First, the bright side: Yaxel Lendeborg has been a very pleasant surprise and appears more than equipped to be a major contributor right away, which is exactly what the organization hoped when they picked him with the 11th pick. Brandon Williams looks like a legitimate off-the-bench scoring threat. Probably the most important development of all, the one the season's relevancy hinges on, is that Stephen Curry's knee feels good. Still, the negatives might win the battle.
Speaking of negatives, Kristaps Porzingis, who was supposed to be a key part of that new offensive system, is still a long way from being available on the court. The turnover issue, which was one of the main focal points in camp, has persisted. And finally, today's topic: the Warriors' point-of-attack defense has surfaced as a legitimate trouble spot early on.
Opposing guards have exposed the Warriors’ point-of-attack weaknesses
Point-of-attack defense is most needed against quick, shifty guards — like Brandon Williams — who can blow by their defender and wreak havoc by penetrating the paint. The Warriors have faced three specialists in that domain so far this preseason: Darius Garland, Austin Reaves and rookie Darius Acuff Jr. All three of them feasted off the Warriors' shaky perimeter defense.
First, in the Warriors' preseason opener in Hawaii, Garland went for 15 points and six assists on 4-for-4 shooting from the field and 4-for-5 from the line in just 15 minutes. At Chase Center last week, Acuff Jr. torched the Warriors for 28 points and eight assists on 8-of-15 shooting. Finally, in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Reaves carved up the short-handed Warriors' defense, putting up 28 points and seven assists on 10-of-18 shooting. One thing the defense did well was force them into high-turnover nights, as Reaves piled up seven and Acuff had four. Otherwise, it was a field day.
When asked about the issue, Kerr said he believes they're capable of doing a much better job.
"You have to do it as a unit," Kerr said after the game in Las Vegas. "This is the roster that we have, so you can sit here and say 'well, too bad we don't have this or too bad we don't have that.' I think we have enough to be a really good team, but we have to do it together."
After stating at the beginning of camp that only two spots in the starting lineup were locked — Stephen Curry and Draymond Green — Kerr is leaning towards starting Brandin Podziemski alongside Curry in the backcourt, two guards that fare better as off-ball defenders than on-ball defenders.
The numbers, though, have shown that they can hold their own on that end too. In Podz's rookie season in 2023, the duo posted a 113.3 defensive rating in 909 minutes. In his second year, that number dropped to 109.5 over 652 minutes of action together. Last season, that figure was at 110.3 in 601 minutes, an above-average number in a smaller-than-usual sample size for a starting backcourt.
What helps make up for the tandem's limited perimeter defense is surrounding them with big wings who can defend. Gui Santos and Yaxel Lendeborg both match that description. Back in 2023-24, with Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green around them, the defensive numbers looked good (105 DRTG in 232 minutes as a unit). A couple of years ago, with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody alongside Green, they posted an even lower mark at 104.2 in 211 minutes. The point is that when flanked by the right personnel, the Curry-Podziemski duo isn't a liability on defense. At the same time, starting them puts more pressure on their wings.
"He's better than you think," Kerr said when asked about Podziemski's point-of-attack defense. "He's really crafty, he's in the right spots all the time, he's got good hands, but again, pick-and-roll defense is a five-man operation."
It becomes a glaring issue when some members of the cast around them are playing out of position, which might happen more often than wanted given the shaky situation surrounding the center position. Porzingis can't be relied on to start the year. Al Horford is on a very conservative schedule — the Warriors have rested him for two of the five preseason games — and won't log more than 20 minutes when he's on the floor. And Green, 36, is inevitably also going to miss games. With those three out, the center responsibilities shift in large part to Charles Bassey and Lendeborg. The Lakers game on Tuesday provided a simple takeaway: at least one of those three guys needs to be out there; otherwise, it could be a long night at the office.
Without an experienced five that's comfortable with defending in space and understands positioning and coverages like Green or Horford, Reaves repeatdely found his way to the basket. Lendeborg needs to put a lot of work into his pick-and-roll defense and posture to avoid those blow-bys. He needs to learn the coverage to be in the right spots at the right time. But asking him to play the five against players like Reaves and Walker Kessler isn't particularly fair. On some nights, they won't have a choice though. They would much rather use him and his size to stop scoring wings rather than have him grapple with seven-footers.
Lendeborg said postgame that he knows he'll have to play the five at some points this season. All the rookie can do is continue to get reps, ask questions, and watch film. Playing the five isn't new to him, but facing NBA-caliber players is.
"I can't do what I did in college, because it's not going to work here. I tried it against Austin Reaves, these guys are a lot more crafty," he said at his locker postgame. "Just being able to get into the right spot and actually believing that my team is going to have my back on the help side."
Perimeter defense isn't only a matter of will; it's also about personnel. The Warriors might not have the personnel to be a great point-of-attack defensive team, but they're also not going to be as bad as they were against the Lakers. A lot will rest on availability, and that might be the biggest concern.
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