SAN FRANCISCO – As the Warriors’ four-game win streak coincides with turning the page to a new and more athletic era, the buzz of optimism is increasing in volume. Dub Nation is full-throated and back on its feet.
It was on display again Friday night at Chase Center, where Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis thrilled the sellout crowd (18,064) with their high-flying, lob-catching, slam-dunking exploits. Their work, along with Stephen Curry’s 30-point gem, carried a 129-118 romp over the perpetually defective Washington Wizards.
Golden State is lively again, and most of the energy is generated by the young bunch. So continues the positive buzz.
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But there is good reason to kill some of it: Defense.
Coach Steve Kerr broached the subject Thursday after practice and again after Friday’s win, reiterating his desire for improvement.
“If we can turn defense into offense, that's the best offense,” Kerr said. “Get a stop and get out and transition, and then the defense can't set up. And we've got a lot of really talented players who now have space to make a play. That's what we're looking for.”
The coach is not alone in believing improved defense is crucial to producing quality basketball, much less sustaining the win streak that has the Warriors (14-14) back to .500 for the first time since Nov. 14.
Golden State Warriors
Curry, the senior member of the squad, also knows it’s necessary.
“As crazy as it sounds, I know we have a standard, but we can play better,” he said. “It’s how I think. You appreciate the wins, but you focus on the areas that we still can get better at, especially defensively.”
Golden State’s offensive rating during its four-game win streak is a lofty 123.3, ranking 10th (tied with the Philadelphia 76ers) in the NBA. Its defensive rating during that span is 118.0, behind the Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors, both of whom lost three of their last four games.
The Warriors averaged 125 points per game during their streak, but their opponents averaged 119.5 – and the Boston Celtics were their only opponent with a winning record.
Outscoring mostly sub-mediocre opponents is not a sustainable way to win when the schedule becomes less forgiving – as it will very soon. After the rebuilding Blazers visit Chase Center on Saturday, the Warriors face five consecutive opponents with winning records, beginning with the defending-champion Nuggets in Denver on Christmas Day.
The coach and the superstar surely realize what looms not too far ahead.
“We’re winning despite our defense taking some steps back,” Curry said. “In order for us to keep this winning streak and keep the vibes going, we have to address that. But for the most part, you’re learning lessons with winning.”
That formula was successful Friday night. There were numerous instances of the Warriors neglecting transition defense, being whistled for touch fouls and failing to box out. Washington in the first half got closely acquainted with the foul line and outscored Golden State 10-4 on second-chance points.
The Warriors went into the locker room at the half with a two-point lead (63-61) over the worst team in the Eastern Conference aside from the woefully pathetic Detroit Pistons.
“We were late on boxouts, late on switches, and that led to fouls,” Kerr said. “So, they shot 18 free throws in the first half. We cleaned up a lot of that in the second half, and that's why they didn't go to the line much.
“That's the big thing, is just being the aggressor, seeing plays before they happen, seeing the boxout, seeing the switch, getting there early. When we do that, we're very good defensive team.”
The Warriors are not that. Not yet. Though Jackson-Davis (10 points, 15 rebounds in 25 minutes) is providing legitimate protection at the rim and Kuminga’s on-ball defense can be stellar, overall team defense – obviously missing defensive savant Draymond Green – remains very much a work in progress.
One third-quarter exchange of baskets typifies how things have gone lately. Kuminga soared in for a rebound of a missed 3-ball by Klay Thompson and spiked the ball through the rim, rocking the arena and bringing the crowd to its feet.
Twelve seconds later, Wizards center Daniel Gafford went strolling through the paint for an uncontested dunk.
That sequence didn’t hurt against the Wizards (5-23). It probably wouldn’t hurt against the Blazers (7-20) on Saturday. But it would be high-risk against opponents over the final week of the calendar year and into the first week of 2024.
If Golden State’s defense doesn’t get appreciably better, that buzz of optimism will be muted.