SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors choose not to look at the procession of beasts lying in wait as they enter the most treacherous part of their 2024-25 NBA season. They’re fixated on the first to greet them, knowing it's as nasty as any they will see.
The only team in the Western Conference with a better record than Golden State’s 12-5 is coming into Chase Center on Wednesday. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 13-4 record puts them on pace to repeat as the No. 1 seed in the West.
And are here the Warriors, after missing the NBA playoffs last season, trying not only to return to the postseason but prove they belong there and are good enough to make a deep run.
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But first, the immediate. The Warriors must get off the floor. Losses to non-contenders in the San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets over the past five days have them trying to rise, regain their balance and see how good they can be. Yet they must know that if the Spurs and Nets can exploit them, the Thunder and the other monsters that follow can bury them.
“They’ve got a great team,” center Trayce Jackson-Davis said of the Thunder. “They’re No. 1 and we’re No. 2. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be rocking [tonight]. Can’t wait.”
Golden State dropped the Thunder 17 days ago, romping off with a 127-116 victory in Oklahoma City. Still, that game provided a glimpse of the Warriors at their worst. They took a 28-point lead into the fourth quarter and had to withstand a late rally – OKC got within six with 4:46 remaining – to come out a winner.
The Warriors escaped on that night, but their tendency to treat big leads with indifference is how they lost to the Spurs and Nets. It’s a dangerous game against even mediocre teams, which is why Golden State spent Tuesday in a laboratory undergoing serious self-evaluation.
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“Those are games we should close out,” Kerr said. “And, obviously, we are facing a daunting schedule ahead.”
What makes the Thunder particularly daunting is their top-rated defense, their collection of two-way wings, led by Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams, and casually spectacular All-NBA point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“We can’t foul him,” Kerr said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “That’s the No. 1 thing when you play them. If he gets to the line 12 times, that six possessions you’re taking the ball out of the net and playing against a set defense. They’re the No. 1 defense in the league. ... But the fouls are the killer. He’s going to make tough shots. But you can’t give him the easy stuff in transition, and you can’t give him the free throws.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is fifth in the NBA in scoring (29.2 points per game), ninth in steals (1.7) and 15th in assists (6.5 per game). He’s second among guards in field-goal percentage (50.9) and third among guards in blocks (1.1). His 8.0 free-throw attempts per game rank fifth. Gilgeous-Alexander torched the Kings on Monday, producing 37 points and 11 assists in a 130-109 rout.
The most imposing thing about the Thunder is their depth. Defenders and shooters come in waves. Golden State’s win earlier this season was in large part the result of OKC center Chet Holmgren’s first-quarter hip injury. The Warriors outscored the much smaller Thunder 95-63 over the next two-plus quarters.
Ten days after Holmgren went down, backup big man Isaiah Hartenstein made his Thunder debut. He’s a couple inches shorter than the 7-foot-2 Holmgren but offsets that with about 40 pounds of muscle. He’s averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds in his first two games.
Hartenstein presents different problems than Holmgren, but he’s no less a challenge for Golden State’s big-man trio of Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and Jackson-Davis.
“Playing against Isaiah last year, he’s a big rebounder, playing in the pocket with those quick-touch finishes,” Jackson-Davis said. “An underrated ability of his game is his passing. We’re just going to play him 1-on-1. Me and Loon, Dray. And then we want to choke the shooters and make sure that we cut off passes.”
The Warriors addressed the issues that plagued them in the last two games. They believed they found enough solutions to get back to being the squad that was among the most surprising teams in the league through the first month of the season.
Golden State’s schedule is entering the unforgiving stretch. No better place to gauge short-term progress than to begin by facing the best in the conference.