Throwing a block party of historic proportions
Much has changed in the NBA since the halcyon days of Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutumbo and David Robinson. As the league trends toward a “position-less” brand of basketball, the notion that a prototypical interior defender must be a 7-foot center has become antiquated.
No team better embodies that transformation than the Warriors. To easily lead the NBA in blocked shots, Golden State has relied on two long-limbed forwards, a switch-heavy system and a bench loaded with savvy positional defenders.
“We may not have the height,” center David West said, “but we have the length.”
Little more than a third of the way through the season, the Warriors are on pace to shatter the franchise record of 7.8 blocks per game set by a 1988-89 team that featured 7-foot-7 Manute Bol. Golden State’s 8.5 blocks per game would be the secondhighest average in league history, behind only the 1985-86 Washington Bullets (8.7) since the NBA began tracking blocks in the 1973-74 season.
No club has tallied at least seven per game in a half-decade. Entering Friday, the Warriors’ 247 blocks this season were 78 more than the next-closest team in San Antonio, which was a bigger disparity than the 71 blocks that separated the Spurs at No. 2 and the Bulls at No. 29.
With Stephen Curry sidelined the past four games by a sprained right ankle, head coach Steve Kerr has rolled out bigger, more versatile lineups. Increased minutes for 6-foot-6 Andre Iguodala and 6-7 Shaun Livingston, both of whom can switch off screens more easily than the 6-3 Curry, have paved the way for some of Golden State’s most block-riddled outings of the season.
In a Dec. 8 win over Detroit, the Warriors rejected a seasonhigh 15 shots. That was sandwiched by a 12-block game against Charlotte and a nineblock showing against Portland.
“We’re doing what we’ve always been doing,” guard Klay Thompson said. “Guys are just better at it.”
In summer 2016, when Golden State’s front office parted ways with centers Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli to sign forward Kevin Durant, many outside the organization flagged interior defense as a potential weakness. Such concerns were soon assuaged when Durant blossomed into the ideal defensive complement to forward Draymond Green.
Playing the most power forward of his career, Durant swatted a career-high 1.6 shots per game last season. The Warriors’ 6.8 blocks per game were nearly a rejection more than any other team averaged.
With 12 players back from its 2016-17 championship team, Golden State appears more comfortable in assistant coach Ron Adams’ defensive scheme. The Warriors are switching off screens, funneling shooters into the paint and forcing opponents deep into the shot clock. As time runs out, teams have a tougher time getting a clean look over Golden State’s slew of massive wingspans.
Durant, who is closer to 7-foot than his listed 6-9, ranks second in the NBA with 2.1 blocks per game. A master at using spacing and angles to sift out shooters, Green is 12th at 1.4.
More surprising are the contributions Golden State has mined from its role players. West leads the Warriors with 3.4 blocks per 36 minutes, followed by JaVale McGee (3.3), Jordan Bell (3.0) and Kevon Looney (2.7).
“It’s just great individual play, and guys working together,” Kerr said. “When we’re right defensively, we are funneling guys to certain spots, and we happen to have great length as a team, and speed. Even the guys who aren’t maybe traditional shot blockers are getting some blocks.”
More than powering the NBA’s seventh-ranked defense, Golden State’s block-happy ways have fueled an offense averaging a league-best 116.8 points per game. The Warriors, who are most at ease pushing the tempo and confusing defenses, top the NBA with 22.2 points per game on fast breaks. The Lakers are the next at 15.5.
Durant has swatted numerous shots this season, only to throw down a dunk seconds later on the other end. It is the type of momentum-shifting, full-court display of athleticism that was far less common when Olajuwon, Mutumbo and Robinson reigned as some of the league’s top interior defenders.
“It’s not just the blocks,” Kerr said. “It’s making people think about the blocks. When you have that threat, maybe guys shoot their shot a little quicker.”