If you happen to have been skeptical of the 6-1 report the Golden State Warriors had jumped out to, you were not alone. The schedule was exceedingly gentle, with wins over Portland, Utah, Washington and two extra vs. a New Orleans staff that has regarded like a multitude.
However there have been indicators that one thing actual was brewing. These wins weren’t squeakers. They have been blowing groups out with protection and depth, two sometimes steady id markers. You thought a crack confirmed up in a 31-point blown result in the Rockets, however the Warriors steadied themselves and Jonathan Kuminga pulled them via with an encouragingly assertive additional time effort.
It confirmed that the Warriors might reply to surprising adversity. It is troublesome to must ramp again as much as win a recreation you thought was already over. That additional time was a pop quiz of kinds because the Rockets had all of the momentum. Golden State handed it and took one other constructive step ahead.
All of it arrange for a showdown in Boston on Wednesday, the place the Warriors took their first true check towards a top-shelf opponent. And man did they ever ace it, defeating the defending champion Celtics 118-112 whereas placing the stamp of validation on their early season success.
Let’s hold this in perspective. We’re not even three weeks into the season. One win does not make a staff a contender. But it surely does imply that the Warriors can, on the fitting night time, not solely play with, however defeat anybody. They will do that, before everything, as a result of they defend like loopy.
Thus far solely the Thunder are registering a greater defensive ranking than the Warriors, and the hole between Golden State and the No. 3 Rockets is an considerable 5 factors per 100 possessions. The Warriors are versatile, lively, linked, they usually stored themselves within the recreation on Wednesday regardless of a particularly poor offensive begin with a high-pressure protection that held Boston to only 40 first-half factors.
Certain, the Celtics have been lacking Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, the latter of whom is but to play this season and is not anticipated to swimsuit up till December. It took an A+ effort from the Warriors to beat a staff that was lacking two of its 5 greatest gamers.
Golden State isn’t in Boston’s class. Do not get that twisted. However they don’t seem to be as far off as you would possibly suppose. They’re positively one commerce away from true rivalry. Who that commerce goal could be, and whether or not mentioned participant would even be out there, is one other subject for an additional day.
For now, as constructed, the Warriors are clearly a staff that’s constructed to stay within the combine for a playoff spot, if not a top-four seed, for the period. So long as Stephen Curry avoids a protracted damage absence, it is a staff that may stand up to accidents just about anyplace else due to their depth. Ten guys performed at the very least 14 minutes in Boston.
Bear in mind, the Warriors weren’t at full power on Wednesday both. Brandin Podziemski did not play, and whereas he isn’t Jaylen Brown, he has been, for probably the most half, wonderful for Golden State this season. His absence was no small matter. Similar goes for De’Anthony Melton, who’s a starter and but shockingly straightforward to neglect with all of the legit contributors the Warriors are bringing to the desk.
Curry, who completed 27 factors, 9 assists, seven rebounds and 4 steals, mentioned it completely after the sport: “I really like the vibe that we have now.”
Certainly, the vitality that’s buzzing within the Bay proper now feels quite a bit just like the outdated Warriors, who performed each night time with the enjoyment and urgency of a staff nonetheless had one thing to show, and that genuinely beloved enjoying collectively.
This staff is having enjoyable, plain and easy. It’s enjoying for each other, and off each other, everybody studying and reacting because the ball pops round. Buddy Hield, who had 4 extra 3-pointers on Wednesday, is enjoying out of his thoughts. Draymond Inexperienced is quarterbacking each ends of the court docket at an elite stage. Andrew Wiggins is, dare I say, flirting along with his 2021-22 type. Gary Payton II is a strolling adrenaline hit.
Moses Moody. Trayce Jackson-Davis. Kevon Looney. Lindy Waters. Kyle Anderson. Kuminga. There is not a single participant anyplace on this rotation that is not enjoying terribly properly to begin this season. Kerr can’t push a fallacious lineup button proper now.
The checks will hold approaching this street journey with dates at Cleveland, which is 8-0, and Oklahoma Metropolis, which is the one staff that may be credibly talked about in the identical breath as Boston. It is exhausting to think about, with the best way the Warriors are enjoying proper now, that they will not discover a technique to compete in these two video games. However even when issues do not go in addition to they did in Boston, the proof that we would have liked to see to validate this staff as legit has been formally submitted. These Warriors have come out to play.
