I write this article with a weary but impish smile. I am so proud of these Golden State Warriors, despite this being one of the most strange seasons of the Splash Era. This group is nowhere near it’s final form right now, but still they tantalize, amirite?
There’s something happening in Golden State that doesn’t show up cleanly in the standings. You won’t find it in the injury reports, which have been as long as a CVS receipt all season. You won’t find it in the absence of Jimmy Butler, who is done for the year, or in the weeks without Stephen Curry nursing a knee that better be right come April. What you’ll find, if you’re paying close enough attention, is a team that has quietly decided it doesn’t need anyone’s permission to compete.
No matter what you wanna say about this team’s player management, coaching, and effort, they’re going to drag somebody into a competitive basketball game.
And the Denver Nuggets, of all teams, have the receipts.
The Warriors are 2-1 against Denver this season. Let that breathe for a second. Two wins against a team sitting third in the Western Conference, featuring a monster firmly entrenched in the greatest player on the planet conversation in Nikola Jokic. GSW’s first win against the Joker came on October 23rd in overtime, 137-131, the night Aaron Gordon had what might be the greatest individual performance you’ve ever seen from a losing player: 50 points, 10-for-11 from three, a career night for the ages. And the Warriors still won. Curry dropped 42 and the Nuggets couldn’t cut off his water and they got drowned in the splash.
That should have been a sign.
The second win is somehow even more absurd yesterday with Curry out and Butler done for the season. Porzingis out with illness and Draymond Green out with back soreness. The Warriors cobbled together their remaining group of guys against Jokic, who responded with 35 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, one of the great triple-doubles you’ll see all season. Denver lost anyway.
Moses Moody led Golden State with 23 points. Al Horford, 39 years old and playing like he has unfinished business, chipped in 22. De’Anthony Melton was everywhere. Brandin Podziemski grabbed 15 rebounds and ran the show in the 4th quarter after a rough shooting start. GUI SANTOS LOOKING LIKE A REAL BALLER.
The only Warriors loss to Denver this season? November 7th, when Curry, Horford and Melton were all inactive and the Nuggets blew them out by 25.
The pattern is unmistakable folks: with Curry, or even without Curry but with the ensemble intact, the Warriors beat Denver. Without Curry and the masterful Mr. Melton, they lose. And here’s where this season becomes genuinely fascinating, because the playoff picture is starting to take shape in ways that should make Dub Nation sit up straight.
If by some happenstance, the Warriors fight their way up to 7th in the play-in tournament, and the Nuggets overtake the second seed, this could very well be a fascinating first round matchup. Porzingins and Hoford won a championship together in Boston by being the 21st century type of bigs who do a lotta things well, including space the floor. Not as good as Jokic or as consistent, but at a high enough rate to flip momentum their team’s way.
Golden State is currently the 8th seed at 30-27. If they win out the play-in tournament, that most likely puts them on a collision course with the San Antonio Spurs, who are second in the West at 40-16 and perplexing the league. The casual basketball observer may see that and think mismatch. The student of the game remembers that the Warriors beat San Antonio twice in their own building this season, with Curry erupting for 46 and 49 points respectively. The one loss in that series came when Golden State was severely shorthanded down the stretch.
Look don’t get it twisted, these Dubs are quite dangerous when they get a little mojo going on ya. Don’t believe me?
Cast your mind back to last season. The Warriors and the Houston Rockets in the first round. Curry and Butler are the truth, which is always enough to make things dangerous, but the Rockets were young and hungry and playing at home. And yet the Warriors competed in that series because of what surrounds Curry, not just who he is. Veterans who know their roles. Young players whose confidence exceeds their experience. A system under Steve Kerr that turns five guys into something greater than the sum of their parts.
Now add Kristaps Porzingis, who hasn’t even fully debuted alongside Curry yet. The 7-foot-3 Latvian brings floor spacing and big man IQ that completely changes the geometry of any defense trying to load up on Steph. He has barely played with this group and the Warriors are already holding their own against playoff contenders. When he and Curry are healthy and those two are sharing the floor together for the first time, Denver and San Antonio are about to face a version of this team they haven’t seen yet.
And then there’s Horford, who deserves his own paragraph. At 39, the man is playing with the kind of purposeful, professional excellence that rubs off on younger players. You can see it in Moody, whose confidence has grown all season. You can see it in Podziemski, who is doing his damndest to be the sparkplug this team needs. The veterans on this roster aren’t just surviving, they are teaching, and the young players are absorbing.
This is a Steve Kerr team in every sense of the phrase. Unselfish. Hard-playing. Deeply aware of what got them here. They knock down improbable threes, they ride the crowd at Chase Center, and they genuinely do not care who gets the credit. Strength in Numbers was never just a marketing slogan in Golden State. It was a philosophy, and this version of the Warriors is living it again.
I have watched this franchise for my entire life. I have loved them in the lean years and celebrated them in the dynasty years. But this particular team, this specific collection of misfit toys finding each other in the middle of an injury-ravaged season, might be one of my favorite groups to cover yet. They’ve got the right disposition and an elite coach. And based on what they’ve already done against a couple of the best teams in the West without their best players, they’ve got something else too.
They’ve got a puncher’s chance. And in the NBA playoffs, that is more than enough to keep you up at night. OH YEAH AND THEY HAVE STEPHEN CURRY AND DRAYMOND GREEN.