Warriors think their best basketball is still ahead
Team riding five-game win streak after a challenging March
SAN FRANCISCO >> It was nothing but good vibes in the Warriors' locker room after Golden State bulldozed the Pelicans in the team's regular-season finale.
The Warriors were able to turn their fortune around in the final stretch of the season after a challenging month of March, riding a five-game win streak heading into the postseason.
“We've been trying to do a lot of things at once, develop young players and bring guys back from injury, other guys going out,” coach Steve Kerr said after Sunday night's victory. “We stuck it out, and the guys have a great sense of accomplishment to finish with 53 wins and now obviously we've got to take the next step.”
Surpassing that 50-win plateau in what has been a roller-coaster of a season makes the Warriors even more excited for what's to come in the postseason.
The Warriors' 53 wins are the eighth-most in a single season in franchise history, and they tied for the thirdbest record in the league.
Golden State accomplished this despite never reaching full strength from a health standpoint this year, with Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala missing a combined 156 games over the course of the season.
The Warriors' triumphant core of Thompson, Green and Curry hasn't even played a full game in tandem, tallying just 11 minutes together the entire season. Likewise, that trio hasn't collectively shared the court with presumed
starter Andrew Wiggins, who was sick during the brief stretch all three were available to play.
Entering this critical week of practice before hosting the sixth-seeded Denver Nuggets Saturday for Game 1, questions surround Curry's availability after a sprained ligament in his left foot kept him out for the final 12 games of the season.
There's optimism that he'll be ready by this weekend. If that's the case, Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway believes the Warriors' have a “hell of a run” in them.
But even if Curry isn't cleared to play the first game or games of the postseason, the Warriors are still confident that their best is yet to come.
Thompson is hitting his stride just in time for the playoffs. He tallied a combined 110 points over his last three games, shooting 51.2% (21-of-41) from deep in what has been his best stretch of games since his return earlier this year. Thompson catching fire down the stretch increased his season average of points
per game to 20.4, an accomplishment that had the reflective 32-year-old patting himself on the back.
“The proof is on the court just what he's looked like over the last couple of weeks, you can see he's just settled down quite a bit, the game has slowed down, he has slowed down in a good way, taking better shots, he's been in a great groove now, so it's a good sign,” Kerr said of Thompson. “Klay looks as good as ever, so a lot of good stuff.”
Green also found his rhythm after he looked a step behind the game in his first few weeks back from a back injury. Green's 99.2 defensive rating is the best among league starters in the last six games of the regular season. He's also returned to being one of the Warriors' most important playmakers.
Between the revival of Thompson and Green and the emergence Jordan Poole and Gary Payton II, the Warriors are well positioned to make a deep run in the postseason if they continue on the trajectory they were on at the end of the season.