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| Head coach Mark Jackson |
When
Mark Jackson was hired as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors during
the 2011 offseason, he guaranteed that his team would make the playoffs. It turns out that he may have only been one
year off.
The
Warriors are currently in the playoff picture a quarter of the way into the
2012-2013 NBA season. They have a 16-8
record, which is good enough for the second in the Pacific Division and fifth
place in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the first place Oklahoma City
Thunder. The Warriors seem to following
the Thunder’s blueprint for success: draft your core and acquire key role
players that fill specific needs.
The
Thunder drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden,
who turned into Kevin Martin through trade.
Those are their star players who they build the team around. Other players such as Kendrick Perkins, who
fits the role of veteran leader and defensive stopper, were acquired through
trade or free agency. The Warriors have
gotten, Stephen Curry, their young, star point guard through the draft lottery,
where they also picked up starting shooting guard Klay Thompson and promising
rookie small forward Harrison Barnes.
All three of those players are sure to be cemented into those positions
for years to come.
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| Jarrett Jack and Stephen Curry celebrate while David Lee looks on. |
David
Lee is one of the unsung heroes of the season.
Every year, Lee has produced good numbers. The Warriors acquired Lee via trade in the
2010 offseason. As of December 16, 2012,
Lee is averaging 19.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. He has manned the post quite efficiently for
the Warriors this season. Jarrett Jack
and Carl Landry came to the team before the start of the season and both have
played key minutes all season long. Jack
has done a great job of mentoring Curry to be a better point guard and Landry
has provided depth in the post. When and
if Andrew Bogut is able to return from injury and play at a similar level that
he is capable of, this will only make the Warriors stronger. They also have a collection of role players
that figure prominently into their success, such as Draymond Green, whose layup
was the bucket that gave his team a victory of the Miami Heat on December 12,
2012.
Many
will doubt the validity of the Warriors success, due to their disappointing
play since the days of Tim Hardaway and his “killer crossover”. However, the Warriors are for real. They have an average defense, but their
offense ranks eleventh in points per game and third in rebounds per game. There is no reason to think that these
numbers cannot continue with players like Curry and Thompson on the wing and
Lee manning the boards inside. Among
their 16 victories are wins over the Heat, Nets, Timberwolves, Hawks and
Mavericks, who all sit in the playoff picture of their respective
conferences. On their previous seven
game road trip, the Warriors came home with a 6-1 record.
Perhaps
the biggest reason for their success is the health of Stephen Curry. After Curry missed most of the 2011-2012
season with serious problems to his ankle, some doubted that he could return to
have a healthy career free of setbacks and also regain his athleticism that
made him such an intriguing prospect.
Curry had missed 40 of 66 games last year and averaged career lows in
points and assists per game. This
season, Curry has bounced back quite nicely and is averaging 19.7 points, 6.5
assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
Curry is shooting 41.8% from beyond the arc.
The
Warriors are a good basketball team and have the makeup to be good, possibly
even great, for years to come if they can keep their core intact.
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