‘Peaking’ is no longer dirty word around Golden State
OAKLAND >> The term once caused Draymond Green to lower his eyebrows, scratch his head and dispute a reporter’s line of questioning.
On Nov. 9, Green did not exactly agree that Warriors guard Stephen Curry was peaking in only his ninth NBA season. On Friday, however, Green outlined how that term applied to the Warriors’ readiness entering their Western Conference finals matchup against the top-seeded Houston Rockets, beginning on Monday on Houston.
“This year, it would’ve been great to get homecourt (advantage),” Green said. “Our main priority was health and trying to peak at the right time.”
The Warriors did not exactly achieve those goals to close out the regular season. They lost 10
out of their last 17 games. They had overlapping injuries to all of their All-Star players including Stephen Curry, who missed the final 10 regular-season games after suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain in
his left knee on March 23. And the Warriors ended the 2017-18 campaign with questions marks on whether they could suddenly erase their bad habits that contributed to a high volume of turnovers (15 per game) and fouls (19.5)
In the past month though? In describing his team’s postseason improvement, Warriors coach Steve Kerr used the same word that once caused Green to stare down a reporter.
“We’re peaking at the right time because our guys are really competitive and we know what’s at stake,” Kerr said. “They are a lot more motivated now than they were a month ago. That has nothing to do with coaching. That’s human nature and competitive desire.”
The Warriors are also a lot healthier than they were a month ago.
Kerr reported that Curry’s left knee is “feeling better and stronger” since playing in the past four games. Curry admitted he has benefitted from the team’s nearly week-long break between a Game 5 close-out win over New Orleans on Tuesday and Game 1 in Houston on Monday and said it is “better than going seven (games) and playing two days later.” Curry expressed optimism he can “hit the ground running” against Houston after the Warriors phased him back gradually against New Orleans in Games 2 (27 minutes), 3 (29), 4 (32) and 5 (37).
“Everything concerning my injuries was managed the right way,” Curry said. “I sit here now in May with hopefully eight more wins in front of us. I’m ready to play.”
The rest of the Warriors said they feel the same way.
The Warriors are tied with Houston for the NBA’s best postseason record (8-2). The Warriors rank first in total offense (110.3 points per game), third in total defense (101.6 points allowed) and have reduced their turnovers (13.4) and fouls (18.8). Kerr also has noticed the Warriors showing more consistent effort with boxing out and ball movement.
“I tried it for two months in the regular season and they never listened to me,” Kerr joked. “When the stakes get higher, they tend to listen to the coach a little bit more.”
As Green noted, “we play our best when our back is against the wall.” Therefore, Green maintained confidence the Warriors would have postseason answers after offering regular-season question marks. It also helps the Warriors won two NBA titles in the past three years.
“I didn’t have any concern. I know what this team is capable of (doing),” Green said. “Being the guy that is in the fire, I know how everyone else feels because I know how I felt. Saying that, I know we have
championship experience and we know how to win. We know things that need to be done in order to win championships. I trust that.”
The Warriors also have the players to do that. After Curry (31), Green (11), Kevin Durant (14), Klay Thompson (8) and Andre Iguodala (16) had overlapping regular-season injuries, the Warriors have one lone injury in Patrick McCaw (spine contusion). While the Warriors will heavily lean on their healthy AllStars, they also have reserves (Nick Young, Quinn Cook, Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell) who have played significant minutes.
“If you have a team that’s talented as ours, you can afford to throw everybody out there and still win plenty of games,” Kerr said. “Teams that don’t have as much talent as ours don’t have that luxury. But we have that luxury. We try to play everybody in the regular season so we can go to anybody in the playoffs. I’m very comfortable with that.”
The Warriors are also very comfortable with how they are peaking, something that was not the case two years ago.
In the 2015-16 season, the Warriors surpassed the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team for the NBA’s best record (73-9). But that regular-season success preceded some postseason failure that included Curry having complications in his right knee and the Warriors squandering a 3-1 series lead to Cleveland in the NBA Finals. Since then, there have been mixed reviews on whether the Warriors exhausted too much energy.
“We were playing to win every game, which you should. But the outcome wasn’t what you’d like for it to be,” Iguodala said. “If you take away a minute or 10 seconds, there might be a different outcome. But we definitely enjoyed each other that season. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Will the Warriors’ long-term priority toward rest result in a better outcome in the 2018 NBA playoffs?
“It can work against you sometimes. It can work for you,” Iguodala said. “Hopefully it can work for you in the playoffs, and historically it has worked for us. In the regular season, sometimes it’s maybe used against you. Your output is not what others think it should be. We try to use our experience in knowing what lies ahead. We try to be smart in how we move in those first five or six months in how it impacts us in the final two months.”
So far, the Warriors have seen that impact with a less crowded trainer’s room and a more engaged team on the court.
“We handled everything we could with what was thrown at us. We’re playing our best basketball right now,” Curry said. “We can ride that momentum going into the conference finals against a good Houston team that has been playing good all year. That’s kind of where we want to be.”