As the 2015-2016 season is just past the halfway point, it’s time to reflect on how good of a season the Warriors are having so far. Sitting at 52-5 they’re on pace to match or possibly break the record set by the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls when they went 72-10. They’re also quietly undefeated at home this season, chasing the record of 50-1 set by the 1985-1986 Celtics. After the Warriors took center stage last year under their new coach Steve Kerr, who coincidentally was on that Bulls team, it seemed unlikely that they could get any better. With the lineup centered around “small-ball”, the Dubs caused mismatches and ran the floor with 5 guys who could shoot the 3 without hesitation. Not only did they shoot the long ball well, but they took a page out the Spurs book, and shared the ball consistently. But, how could we forget the face of the franchise, Steph Curry?
Drafted 7th overall in 2009, Steph Curry was the undersized guard from a relatively unknown Davidson team. Criticized because of his size, and lack of true point guard abilities, no one really knew how he would fit in a starting lineup in the NBA. Plagued with ankle injuries for his first couple of seasons, 2014-2015 was the first year where Steph really had his chance to shine. And he did. Being the perfect point guard for this fast paced offense, Curry set the single season record for three pointers made, averaged 24-8-4, and took home the MVP. It seemed like he had finally reached his ceiling for where he could be as a player. Then, Steph put the whole league on notice.
Every generation, there are a handful of players that come along that are special. Then, there are some players that transcend the game itself. If Steph Curry continues on the path he started last year, he will go down as the best shooter of all time, and quite possibly a top 20 player of all time. Outside of the historic season that his team is having, he isn’t doing so bad himself. Averaging 30-6-5, while shooting 51-45-91, he has a 31.9 PER halfway through the season; while only playing 33.7 minutes per game. If we weren’t in the current age of the NBA where you rest your players, sometimes to the point where they hardly ever have to play in the 4th quarter, Steph would have even higher numbers. To put his stats in perspective, the only non-centers to have over a 30 PER are LeBron, Jordan, Tracy McGrady, and Dwyane Wade. During Chicago’s 72-10 season, Jordan averaged 37.7 minutes per game and 30-4-7. It’ll be hard to put Steph’s final numbers in comparison because of the minutes played, so we’ll have to default to the per 36 averages.
One of the keys to the Warriors success lies with the Swiss army knife of Draymond Green. Coming into the league, there was a lot of doubt on how he would fit due to his “tweener” size, if he would be big enough to play power forward or if he was fast enough to play the small forward. Well, he’s proved everyone wrong and now he spends almost half of his playing time at the center position. Coming 2nd in the Defensive Player of the Year voting last year, Green has the ability to guard virtually every position at an extremely high level. This gives him the unique ability to play center in the small ball lineup, not only because of his defensive abilities, but he is an above average passer, and shoots about 38% from three. Arguably, Draymond is almost as valuable to the Warriors and what they do, as Curry is. Without him, their lineup wouldn’t be able to function at the highest level, and wouldn’t allow them to have nearly as much success as they have.
Due to the success that the Warriors have had with this newfound small ball idea, many teams in the league have tried to replicate it. There’s just one problem with trying to duplicate what the Warriors are doing. First, it’s really hard to find someone who plays the undersized center role and can be good enough on the defensive end to guard centers when the other team runs a regular lineup. Second, you need the perimeter shooters that can consistently make shots from beyond the arc, while also being able to pass the ball efficiently and minimize turnovers. It’s pretty hard to find one of these players and plug them into your lineup; the Warriors have 3. Draymond obviously is their man in the center, listed at 6’7 but somehow shuts down 7 footers on a regular basis. Steph is arguably the best shooter of all time, and has reached the point where he has top 5 ball handling abilities, as well as his passing being among the best in the league. The third player in the Dubs lineup, is none other than Klay Thompson. Klay is the second best shooter in the league today behind his teammate, and possibly a top 10 shooter ever to touch a basketball. He helps take the load off of Steph Curry, and is known to be an enormous threat once he gets in a rhythm.
The Small 3? I think it’s an appropriate name, and they’re the biggest reasons behind the historic run that this team is having. With their only losses so far coming on nights where they were missing Steph, Draymond, and were at the end of an 8 game road trip respectively. The one loss where they were beat as a full team was against the Pistons, who dominated them down low. I really can’t see a team beating the Warriors in a 7 game series, so I won’t be surprised if they repeat as champs. But for 72-10, it’ll be a greater feat. I believe that regardless of how they finish out the second half of the year, they’ll go down as one of the greatest teams of all-time; right there with the ’72 Lakers, ’86 Celtics, and ’95 Bulls. The Warriors finish the season 73-9, becoming the greatest regular season team in the history of the game.
Drafted 7th overall in 2009, Steph Curry was the undersized guard from a relatively unknown Davidson team. Criticized because of his size, and lack of true point guard abilities, no one really knew how he would fit in a starting lineup in the NBA. Plagued with ankle injuries for his first couple of seasons, 2014-2015 was the first year where Steph really had his chance to shine. And he did. Being the perfect point guard for this fast paced offense, Curry set the single season record for three pointers made, averaged 24-8-4, and took home the MVP. It seemed like he had finally reached his ceiling for where he could be as a player. Then, Steph put the whole league on notice.
Every generation, there are a handful of players that come along that are special. Then, there are some players that transcend the game itself. If Steph Curry continues on the path he started last year, he will go down as the best shooter of all time, and quite possibly a top 20 player of all time. Outside of the historic season that his team is having, he isn’t doing so bad himself. Averaging 30-6-5, while shooting 51-45-91, he has a 31.9 PER halfway through the season; while only playing 33.7 minutes per game. If we weren’t in the current age of the NBA where you rest your players, sometimes to the point where they hardly ever have to play in the 4th quarter, Steph would have even higher numbers. To put his stats in perspective, the only non-centers to have over a 30 PER are LeBron, Jordan, Tracy McGrady, and Dwyane Wade. During Chicago’s 72-10 season, Jordan averaged 37.7 minutes per game and 30-4-7. It’ll be hard to put Steph’s final numbers in comparison because of the minutes played, so we’ll have to default to the per 36 averages.
One of the keys to the Warriors success lies with the Swiss army knife of Draymond Green. Coming into the league, there was a lot of doubt on how he would fit due to his “tweener” size, if he would be big enough to play power forward or if he was fast enough to play the small forward. Well, he’s proved everyone wrong and now he spends almost half of his playing time at the center position. Coming 2nd in the Defensive Player of the Year voting last year, Green has the ability to guard virtually every position at an extremely high level. This gives him the unique ability to play center in the small ball lineup, not only because of his defensive abilities, but he is an above average passer, and shoots about 38% from three. Arguably, Draymond is almost as valuable to the Warriors and what they do, as Curry is. Without him, their lineup wouldn’t be able to function at the highest level, and wouldn’t allow them to have nearly as much success as they have.
Due to the success that the Warriors have had with this newfound small ball idea, many teams in the league have tried to replicate it. There’s just one problem with trying to duplicate what the Warriors are doing. First, it’s really hard to find someone who plays the undersized center role and can be good enough on the defensive end to guard centers when the other team runs a regular lineup. Second, you need the perimeter shooters that can consistently make shots from beyond the arc, while also being able to pass the ball efficiently and minimize turnovers. It’s pretty hard to find one of these players and plug them into your lineup; the Warriors have 3. Draymond obviously is their man in the center, listed at 6’7 but somehow shuts down 7 footers on a regular basis. Steph is arguably the best shooter of all time, and has reached the point where he has top 5 ball handling abilities, as well as his passing being among the best in the league. The third player in the Dubs lineup, is none other than Klay Thompson. Klay is the second best shooter in the league today behind his teammate, and possibly a top 10 shooter ever to touch a basketball. He helps take the load off of Steph Curry, and is known to be an enormous threat once he gets in a rhythm.
The Small 3? I think it’s an appropriate name, and they’re the biggest reasons behind the historic run that this team is having. With their only losses so far coming on nights where they were missing Steph, Draymond, and were at the end of an 8 game road trip respectively. The one loss where they were beat as a full team was against the Pistons, who dominated them down low. I really can’t see a team beating the Warriors in a 7 game series, so I won’t be surprised if they repeat as champs. But for 72-10, it’ll be a greater feat. I believe that regardless of how they finish out the second half of the year, they’ll go down as one of the greatest teams of all-time; right there with the ’72 Lakers, ’86 Celtics, and ’95 Bulls. The Warriors finish the season 73-9, becoming the greatest regular season team in the history of the game.