The Warriors come in waves because they have enough capable players to get away with it. Prediction: If the Warriors win 60 games, most of the credit should go to the defense, of which Draymond is the heart and hub. He’s guarding all five positions, advising his teammates in real time and pushing everyone to strive for his level. 1 defense in the league by a substantial margin is a direct reflection on Draymond’s hyperactivity and broad influence. The title of one chapter in the book chronicling the 2021-22 Warriors has to be “How Draymond Got His Groove Back.” After two seasons in the NBA wilderness, with the Warriors light years from championship contention, the power forward/point forward/center is back in his happy place. Draymond Green is playing at a DPOY level Prediction: If the Warriors reach 60 wins, Curry will be at or near the top of every MVP ballot. The most notable difference in his game is on defense, where he has been solid in his assignments, terrific within the team concept and takes fewer plays off. He’s a top-five scorer and likely to remain there because his field-goal percentages are slightly below career levels. He’s rebounding at a career-high level and is averaging more assists than he has since 2014-15. He’s healthy, stronger than he has ever been and it shows. The last time Curry had teammates of this quality and was such huge part of the offense, the Warriors won 73 games. They’re very deep, soon to get deeper, and they have the goods to hit the 60-win mark for the first time since 2016-17. Truth is, I might have underestimated the Warriors. Then, too, there was widespread belief that the Los Angeles Lakers were the best team in the West. Though it was an objective analysis, the general reaction was that this was a reach. I had them at 54 wins, with a top-four seed in the Western Conference. The Vegas over/under total for wins was at 48.5 - same as the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets - and Golden State will hit the over by playing. They are, however, good enough to blow past most preseason predictions, which had them between 45 and 50 wins. So, no, the Warriors are not going to win 70 games.
The Warriors haven’t seen the Utah Jazz or the Milwaukee Bucks or the Miami Heat or the Phoenix Suns - whom they confront in Game 21 on Tuesday in Phoenix, with a rematch in Game 22 Friday in San Francisco. They’ve played only one championship contender, the Brooklyn Nets, who were without two starters. The schedule gets tougher, and there will be more road games.
They won’t maintain that pace no team is going to win 90 percent of its games this season. Well, coach, Game 20 came Sunday, a 105-90 victory over the LA Clippers that pushed the record to 18-2.Īfter missing the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, they blazed through the first quarter of this season with the best record in the NBA.