Enjoying health at the right time
As the Warriors steam into the second round of the playoffs, the team’s overall physical health can be summed up in one word: sickening.
The other seven remaining playoff teams limp, stagger and gasp into the second round, but the Warriors will arrive in a golden convertible, top down, bugs in their teeth.
That might be a slight exaggeration, but at this point in the season, the Warriors’ health is as good as it gets.
This is not to be insensitive to Steve Kerr, who can’t get a break from the pain. The Warriors really, really want their head coach back on the bench, leading the charge and setting the tone. They are a better team with him.
But in terms of player health?
Let’s take just one man, Andre Iguodala. At 33, a million hard NBA miles on his odometer. Iguodala missed just five games this season, four for rest and one for a hip injury.
He should be pounding the Advil right about now. This is the time of year when the ridiculous schedule and the considerable punishment hit home, when everyone is playing through something.
“I feel like I get stronger as the season goes further and further,” Iguodala told me recently. “I’d rather it be like that, to be peaking at the end.”
Iguodala’s secret is a combination of hard work and intelligent experimentation. He does a lot of things to enhance his health, some of them unconventional. For instance, he does cryotherapy: three-minute sessions in a tank of super-cold liquid nitrogen, reputed to lower inflammation and speed healing.
I asked Iguodala if he feels a benefit from the cryotherapy and he said, “I don’t know. I do so many things, I don’t know which ones work.”
He describes his regimen as “trying to defeat Father Time.” So far, Dad is losing. Late in the season, Iguodala’s legs got fresher, and he became much dunkier.
“I’m always springier as the season goes further and further along,” he said. “It’s very weird. I don’t know why it’s like that, but I’m cool with it.”
No question the Warriors are lucky. But don’t discount the element of intelligent design. The Warriors use advanced tracking and monitoring to scientifically assess the wear and tear on each player. Kerr and his staff have the courage to rest players if they’re redlining. Stephen Curry was rested just one game this season, but he sat out 25 fourth quarters. Curry is a fanatical conditioner, and his offseason work with Brandon Payne is geared to reaching full power at playoffs time.
Another strategy that is paying off now for Curry: skipping the Olympics.
With the Warriors, you have a convergence of players in peak physical condition at the same time.
Example: JaVale McGee is in the best shape of his life. He used to be heavier, but the weight took a toll and he absorbed leg injuries, so he changed his diet and lost a lot of weight. He’s on a vegan diet now, and says he moves up and down the court better than ever.
Being on the NBA’s All-Salad team allows McGee to give the Warriors 10 to 15 minutes per game of supercharged, near-maniacal energy.
Draymond Green is almost surely in his best shape ever for this time of year. Like McGee, Green got religion, dietwise. He eats smarter and is able to play harder. He’s also more mature and probably makes wiser health decisions.
Team injuries have been mostly minor, and, in some cases, beneficial. Kevin Durant missed 19 games with a knee sprain. He came back in early April, in time to merge back into the flow of the Warriors’ offense.
Durant, who also missed two games in the first round against Portland with a minor calf injury, now can benefit from Tom Brady Syndrome. That’s where you sit out a chunk of games against your will, but the missed time turns out to be restful and energizing.
When the Warriors got Durant, they were buying insurance against almost inevitable injuries. In theory, the Warriors are the NBA team best built to survive the absence of one superstar.
How’s that working out? Right now, the Warriors are well over the superstar cap.
The current injury list is short-short. Shaun Livingston has a sore right index finger, but it’s healing, he probably will be OK, and he should have fresh legs. Matt Barnes’ ankle seems to be healing, and with Durant back, Barnes’ role is relatively minor.
Another huge plus for the Warriors: In past playoff runs, they counted heavily on injuryprone center Andrew Bogut and his injuryprone backup, Festus Ezeli. Their present three-man center committee — Zaza Pachulia, McGee and David West — is as healthy as a three-headed horse.
So to beat the Warriors, you can’t outhealth them. You have to outscore and/or outdefend them. Good luck with that. Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler