Dub Hub: Warriors are above .500 for the first time in a month

Nov 28, 2022 - 2:00 PM

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Good Morning Dub Nation,

The Golden State Warriors are beginning to settle in after their early struggles had them beginning the season with a 3-7 record. Since then, the team has gone 8-3 as their recent three-game winning streak has the team above .500 for the first time since Oct. 27.

While there are many things that can be attributed to the Warriors’ recent success, one potential reason may be that the team’s new role players needed more time to adapt to the Warriors’ unique style of play. Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic had a great article that outlined just how hard it is to learn Golden State’s system, i.e., how to play with Stephen Curry.

Via The Athletic:

“The ones that figure it out the quickest obviously have a higher (basketball) IQ,” Curry said, “in terms of seeing the floor and being able to make decisions quickly. But it’s just the basics of basketball — all put together and all can happen in one possession. How to set screens. How to cut at the right time and cut hard. How to make crisp passes quickly, where you’re not holding the ball. If you do all those things, somebody’s gonna get open. Most times, it’s me, but sometimes it’s others.”

Green said he learned early, in his rookie year in 2012-13, that Curry was an exceptional pick-and-roll player. So Green decided to become a willing and exceptional screener. He made a habit of randomly setting picks for Curry, sprinting if necessary to get a defender off the Warriors’ point guard. He mastered screening at the right angle to get the response they wanted, a nuance the good screeners understand.

With basketball IQ and experience being the biggest factors in learning the Warriors’ system, it makes sense why the second unit consisting of mostly younger players struggled earlier in the season.

To add to that, one glaring aspect of the Warriors’ recent success is that it also coincides with former second-overall pick James Wiseman being sent to the G-League. With that being said, it is unfair to place the blame solely on him or any of the other young players on Golden State’s roster. During his postgame interview on Friday, Draymond Green explained why the young core is in such a tough position right now but how it will be better for them in the long-term.

With Golden State finally beginning to resemble the championship team of last year, it will be interesting to see if the system will click for the young core as they hope to contribute to the Warriors’ title aspirations this season.

Here are the rest of today’s stories:

In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:

• How the Warriors carved up the Timberwolves’ pick-and-roll coverages
• Warriors get back above .500 after running past the Wolves in 137-114 win
• The Warriors keyed in on the Jazz’s most dangerous shooter — and it paid off
• Warriors improve to 9-1 at home this season, defeat Jazz 129-118

Other Warriors News:

• Thompson: How to play with Stephen Curry — a sophisticated dance that’s both hard and easy (The Athletic)
• Draymond Green calls late tech ‘crazy’; Stephen Curry picks up one in solidarity (ESPN)
• Klay Thompson says improved shooting is directly tied to social media break (Mercury News)
• NBA broadcasters and the search for the next great statistician: A love story (The Athletic)
• Warriors’ Steph Curry tells story of how no-look 3-pointer phenomenon began (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Warriors find answers by leaning harder on the core (Dub Nation HQ)

NBA News:

• Ja Morant gets triple-double, gives Grizzlies win at MSG (ESPN)
• Kevin Durant: ‘Pretty cool’ seeing LeBron on cusp of history (ESPN)
• Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan is the NBA’s most interesting rookie (Andscape)
• Nekias Duncan breaks down different defensive coverages against Luka Doncic (Twitter)
• Franz Wagner is out to make a point as a forward (SB Nation)