The Golden State Warriors were widely expected to do well this season but they have exceeded all expectations with their start to the 2021-22 NBA campaign. After 35 games, they are clear at the top of the Western Conference with the best record in the entire league at 28-7.
A large part of their success is owed to Steph Curry, the point guard has been on an incredible, record-breaking run of form that has him as the early season favorite to win the MVP. Their supporting cast has also been stellar, with Draymond Green, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins all playing at an excellent level.
However, over the course of the last four games, Golden State has missed all 3 of those players at different points in time. They have also played all four of the teams just below them in the West and beaten three of them to post a 3-1 record.
The Warriors beat a fully healthy Jazz team in Utah 123-116 without Draymond Green. Exactly a week ago they beat a fully healthy Suns team in Phoenix without Wiggins and Poole.
Pretty astounding they’re doing this all without Klay Thompson.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) January 2, 2022
First up was 4th-seeded Memphis, and Curry posted 46 points being ably assisted by Gary Payton II’s 22 point performance. Next was the 2nd seed in Phoenix, and that game ended as a 116-107 win for the Warriors too.
This time, Curry was assisted by Otto Porter Jr. who contributed 19 points. Golden State missed both Poole and Wiggins for these games, but others like Jonathan Kuminga and Kevon Looney.
This was followed by a game against the Nuggets, the one they lost. However, they were without their defensive anchor and playmaker in Draymond Green, and Curry shot a miserable 37.5% from the field. They bounced back though, with Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins both playing against Utah in their next game, which ended up being an impressive 123-116 win.
The ability to win without all your stars present is an extremely underrated aspect of excellent championship teams and the caliber of opponent they have beaten makes it all the more impressive. Considering that Klay Thompson hasn’t even returned yet, this Warriors team should be and is a very scary prospect for the rest of the league.
