The Golden State Warriors have looked dominant across their first two postseason games. They lead the NBA in playoff scoring at 124.5 points per game. In addition, they’ve whipped the ball around the court, toying with the Nuggets, racking up a postseason high 30.0 assists per contest. The Warriors’ defense has been nearly as impressive. They’ve hounded Denver inside the restricted zone and beyond the arc, allowing a talented Nuggets squad to hit only 54.5% within five feet of the basket (5th in the postseason) and 33.8% from distance (5th in the postseason).
- 5. Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., And Andre Iguodala Offer Some Of The Best Bench Defense In The NBA
- 4. Andrew Wiggins Is One Of The Most Effective 3-And-D Wings In the Postseason
- 3. Draymond Green Is Still A Top-5 Defender
- 2. Jordan Poole Looks Like The Playoff X-Factor
- 1. The Splash Brothers Are Back
- The Warriors Are Back
- Next
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There are caveats:
The Warriors have only played two games, making their recent success a small sample size example.
Golden State’s First Round foe, the Nuggets, are playing without their second-best player, Jamal Murray, and their third-best player, Michael Porter Jr.
The competition will increase as the Warriors advance. Jordan Poole won’t play like a sweet-shooting version of Isiah Thomas (the Pistons Thomas) forever, and Steph Curry won’t continue to notch a 70.0 eFG% against better defensive squads.
Still, this 2022 version of the Golden State Warriors looks legit.
Below, we’ll rank five reasons the Warriors are primed to reach the Finals for the first time in three years and why they are the best team in the NBA right now.
5. Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., And Andre Iguodala Offer Some Of The Best Bench Defense In The NBA
The Warriors have three top-tier perimeter defenders they can enlist off the bench, a luxury no other team in the playoffs can boast of.
After playing only 42 games during the previous three seasons, Gary Payton II plays like his NBA life is on the line every time he steps on the court. Young Glove has cemented himself as a mainstay in the association this year, but old habits die hard, and Payton’s intensity is a boon for the Warriors.
Gary Payton II was a one-on-one defensive pest throughout the regular season, hounding his assignments into a 43.6% shooting clip across the 71 games he played. Payton used his strength, speed, and intensity to lock down some of the most talented guards in the NBA. However, he truly excelled as a disruptor, using his quick hands to snag 2.5 deflections nightly, a team high mark despite playing only 17.6 minutes per contest.
Gary Payton II finished the 2021-22 season ranked second in Dunks and Threes Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus (+3.6) and tenth in NBA.com’s Defensive Rating (minimum 15 MPG) with a 102.3 mark. Payton is one of the best perimeter defenders in the playoffs, and he’s a significant reason the Warriors feel confident they can slow down the top guards out west.
Andre Iguodala, 38, is still an excellent defender. His 2021-22 regular season metrics were some of the most impressive in the NBA.
Here’s a breakdown:
Andre Iguodala had a 38.2 DFG%.
His assignments averaged 7.2% under their typical shooting marks.
Iguodala finished the regular season 9th in Dunks and Threes DEF +/- (+2.8)
Per Basketball-Reference, he ended the year with a 3.7 Defensive Box Plus/Minus.
Iggy is no longer a 30-plus minute nightly contributor for the Warriors. He only played in 31 games this season, and he’s been dealing with a minor neck issue during the postseason. Despite being closer to 40 than 35, Iguodala is one of the premier short-burst defenders in the game. A player head coach Steve Kerr can turn to for a quarter when he needs to slow down a red-hot opposing wing who can’t seem to miss.
Andre Iguodala has the type of basketball intelligence, strength, length, and mobility that makes him one of the league’s premier lockdown wings. He’ll undoubtedly work on an island during the upcoming rounds, helping the Warriors smother the top-tier offensive wings in the Western Conference in single coverage, stifling the opposing squad’s playmaking ability.
Otto Porter Jr., at 6-8, 200-pounds, has the ideal size teams look for in a lockdown wing. Porter Jr. used his length to stifle his assignments throughout the 2021-22 season, ending the year with an excellent 104 Defensive Rating and 2.1 Defensive Box Plus/Minus.
Otto Porter Jr. is another wing Steve Kerr can throw at opposing squads, an athlete who plays excellent positional defense and always gives 110%.
4. Andrew Wiggins Is One Of The Most Effective 3-And-D Wings In the Postseason
Andrew Wiggins was named an All-Star starter this season for the first time in his career. However, with the Warriors’ cast of superstars and Jordan Poole’s emergence as an offensive force, he seems to be forgotten by the national media. That is a mistake.
Andrew Wiggins might never live up to his pre-draft hype as the second coming of Michael Jordan. He doesn’t have the isolation chops or off-the-dribble shooting skills to become a true offensive force. Still, 3-and-D wings are all the rage in the NBA because they stifle opposing perimeter players and spread the floor for their teammates on offense, and Andrew Wiggins is at the top of the mountain.
Andrew Wiggins ended the 2021-22 season, shooting 39.3% from deep while typically taking on the opposing squad’s most talented offensive player, holding them to a 43.4% mark from the field.
Compare Wiggins’s regular season numbers to the top two finishers for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, Marcus Smart (the winner), and Mikal Bridges (the runner-up)
Andrew Wiggins: 43.4 DFG%, 8.4 contested shots per game, 1.4 deflections per game
Marcus Smart: 45.0 DFG%, 5.2 contested shots per game, 2.9 deflections per game
Mikal Bridges: 46.1 DFG%, 5.9 contested shots per game, 2.0 deflections per game
All three players were routinely tasked with covering the opposing team’s star scorer in single coverage. However, Wiggins had the lowest defensive field goal percentage, and it wasn’t particularly close. Smart and Bridges were better disruptors than Wiggins, averaging more deflections, but Maple Jordan outpaced them in contested shots.
We’re not saying Marcus Smart and Mikal Bridges didn’t deserve to come in first and second, respectively, for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Both players were excellent defenders, and the statistics can’t possibly encompass all that they did for their organizations.
With that said, Wiggins’s impact on the less fun end wasn’t far behind Smart and Bridges. Maple Jordan also outperformed both players in three-point shooting with a 39.3% clip from deep off 5.5 attempts versus Smart’s 33.1% three-point hit rate in 2021-22 and Bridge’s 36.9% mark from beyond the arc.
Andrew Wiggins’s combination of perimeter defense and outside shooting makes him the most impactful 3-and-D player in the postseason. He’s a legitimate All-Star who opens the middle of the court for Steph, Klay, and Poole while acting as a key cog in Golden State’s top ranked defense (they ended the season tied with the Celtics in DEFRTG with a 106.9 mark).
3. Draymond Green Is Still A Top-5 Defender
People seem to have forgotten how dominant Draymond Green was before he went down with a lower back injury on January 5th. Green was the Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner, and he guided the Warriors to a 101.5 Defensive Rating before being sidelined, a mark over five points better than the number two ranked Celtics (106.9 DEFRTG for the season).
“When Draymond is out there, it just makes everyone’s job easier,” Andre Iguodala said in March. “Draymond, he’s all over the floor. Defensively guarding 1 through 5, getting charges, blocking shots, every steal, everything.”
Andre Iguodala explained to reporters that Green does everything on defense for the Warriors.
Here are the numbers:
Draymond Green held his assignments to a 40.7% shooting clip from the field, 6.8% below their normal average, good for one of the top marks among NBA big men.
Green averaged 2.5 deflections per game and 8.5 contested shots nightly.
He finished first in Dunks and Threes Defensive +/- with a +5.0 mark, 1.4 points ahead of second place, Gary Payton II.
Draymond Green’s impact extends beyond the statistics. He’s Golden State’s defensive quarterback, the player who makes sure every Warrior on the court is in the proper position and knows which defensive scheme they’re using. Green is also the team’s energizer. His intensity and attitude set the tone for Golden State on the less fun end, trickling down throughout the roster and ensuring that his teammates go hard throughout every second of every game.
The Warriors were dominant with Green in the lineup this year, posting a 34-12 regular season record as their defensive quarterback guided the ship. The former Michigan State standout is fully healthy for the playoffs and has Golden State’s defense looking championship ready.
2. Jordan Poole Looks Like The Playoff X-Factor
While playing in the NBA’s second season, some of the greatest players of all time have been broken by the intensity of the playoffs. Kobe Bryant averaged 8.2 PPG and shot 38.2% from the field during his opening trip into the postseason, and Tracy McGrady only managed 16.7 PPG while shooting 38.6% overall throughout his initial tour.
Jordan Poole has thrived under the bright lights of the NBA postseason, thriving under the ferocity of the postseason as few first-timers have ever done before.
Jordan Poole’s numbers are ridiculous. He’s averaging 29.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 0.5 BPG while shooting 58.8% from deep with an 82.8 eFG% through two games against the Nuggets.
Jordan Poole has often looked like he’s playing in fast forward versus the Nuggets, a step ahead of their defense at all times. He’s featured every scoring tool imaginable during the postseason, hitting off-the-dribble three-pointers with ease and smooth off-the-bounce mid-range jumpers. He’s also flashed the most explosive first step in the playoffs (including Ja Morant), and he’s finishing among the trees when he gets into the restricted area.
Jordan Poole, known mostly as a vacuum scorer during the regular season, has looked like a top-20 player in the playoffs, which could give Golden State a real shot at the Finals this year. Poole is going to cool off. No player in the NBA can maintain an 82.8 eFG% throughout four grueling playoff rounds, but his passing looks legit. He’s swinging the ball from the perimeter with a purpose in the postseason, and when he attacks the rack and sees the lane closing down, he’s zipping passes to cutters or open three-point shooters behind the arc. Poole’s postseason assist rate isn’t a two-game outlier either. Since the All-Star break, he’s third on the Warriors in assist points created with 13.3 per game.
Jordan Poole’s emergence as a triple-threat playmaking guard who can hit pull-up jumpers from beyond the arc and in the mid-range while wreaking havoc in the lane makes him this postseason’s biggest X-factor.
1. The Splash Brothers Are Back
If you’re an NBA fan, you know how deadly Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are in the Warriors’ backcourt. They made the Finals five years in a row from 2015 through 2019 before Klay Thompson suffered the first of his two major leg injuries. It’s been three years since the Splash Brothers have been healthy for the playoffs, but now, in 2022, both players are whole and looking as good as they did last time they hung a banner in 2018.
Stephen Curry finished the 2021-22 season averaging 25.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 6.3 APG while shooting 38.0% from deep off 11.7 attempts per contest. Steph was sidelined by an injury to his left foot in March and is coming off the bench with a minute restriction in the first round of the playoffs. Curry looked perfectly healthy through his 22.5 minutes per game against the Nuggets. He’s averaged an easy 25.0 PPG, but most importantly he’s made it clear he doesn’t plan to settle for contested outside jumpers during this year’s postseason. Curry has routinely gotten into the teeth of Denver’s defense, pressuring the rack and displaying an excellent drive and kick game.
Klay Thompson averaged a team-high 23.7 PPG off a 39.3% clip from deep after the All-Star break while playing his typical brand of intense on-ball defense. Thompson looked spry, attacking the rim with regularity and effortlessly wrapping around screens. It’s safe to say Curry’s partner in crime is back.
Thompson has brought his sweet jumper to the playoffs, dropping 20.0 PPG while connecting on 44.4% of his long distance bombs against the Nuggets. Thompson’s been known to pour in 25-plus points in a half, and his presence behind the arc makes it impossible for teams to double-team Curry or Poole. He opens the middle of the court for his teammates in a way no other player in the NBA can by putting the opposition in impossible positions on the less fun end.
A healthy Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson form the most potent backcourt in the NBA (sorry, Chris Paul and Devin Booker). They’ve thoroughly destroyed the Nuggets with no ill-effects from their past injuries, making them the favorites to reach the Finals.
The Warriors Are Back
The Phoenix Suns concluded the regular season with the best record in the NBA, but Stephen Curry and company are running like a well-oiled machine at the exact right time. The Warriors made the Finals for five consecutive years and their core has by far the most playoff experience in the league. It’s become clear that after three long and injury-riddled years, a new championship-caliber version of the Golden State Warriors has emerged.
Draymond Green is 100%, and the Warriors’ defense was death when he was in the lineup during the regular season. Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II, Andre Iguodala, and Otto Porter Jr. form the most effective perimeter defensive grouping in the league. Jordan Poole has brought his post-All-Star break playmaking skills to the postseason, and his vision adds an extra dimension to Golden State’s offense. The Splash Brothers also look healthy and ready to regain their playoff dominance together.
