Good Morning Dub Nation,
With a quarter of the season in the books, the Golden State Warriors stand one game above .500 with a record of 11-10. As of today, that would be good enough for the 8th seed in the West and 16th overall amongst the entire NBA. As the first quarter of the season comes to a close, let’s take a look at where the Warriors rank in the latest NBA Power Rankings according to NBA.com.
NBA.com: 10th (Last Week: 18th)
Via NBA.com:
OffRtg: 113.6 (9) DefRtg: 113.4 (22) NetRtg: +0.2 (15) Pace: 103.0 (2)
The Warriors conceded another rest-disadvantage game against the Pelicans on Monday, resting four of their five starters in New Orleans for the second time in 18 days. But they’ve since won three straight games for the first time this season and they’re over .500 for the first time since they were 3-2.
The champs have won the last five games in which they’ve had their starters, with the starting lineup having outscored their opponents by 64 points (scoring an amazing 147.3 per 100 possessions) in its 82 minutes over that stretch. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins have combined to shoot 75-for-152(49.3%) from 3-point range over those five games (Draymond Green is 4-for-7!), with the Warriors shooting more liberally from beyond the arc. After taking more than half their shots from 3-point range in just one of their first 12 games, they’ve done it seven times in their last nine. With that, they’ve outscored their opponents by an average of 24.6 points per game from 3-point range over these last five wins.
Curry’s on-off differential remains absurd (30.2 points per 100 possessions), but with the winning streak, Jordan Poole has registered a positive plus-minus in three straight games for the first time this season. It’s helped that the Warriors have staggered Curry’s and Green’s minutes more than they were earlier in the season, though they’ve still played just 52 total minutes (and have scored less than a point per possession) with Poole and Green on the floor without Curry.
The first Western Conference finals rematch is Tuesday in Dallas. The Warriors’ fifth back-to-back of the season will be their first where both games are at home, with the Bulls and Rockets in San Francisco on Friday and Saturday.
To give this ranking some context, the Portland Trail Blazers are ranked ninth just ahead of the Warriors, while the New Orleans Pelicans came in at eleventh right behind them. Also of note, the Phoenix Suns were the highest ranked Western Conference team, while the Boston Celtics hold the number one spot overall.
Based on their first 21 games, 10th overall sounds just about right for the Warriors. They have slowly found their stride in recent weeks — as evidenced by their 8-3 record since starting the season at a disastrous 3-7. Their starting lineup has been dominant as no team seems to have an answer for the unit led by Stephen Curry who is playing at an MVP level. Meanwhile, their second unit has been revitalized with the inclusion of Draymond Green to help stabilize the group.
With all that being said, don’t be surprised if the Warriors climb up these rankings, especially if they continue to play great basketball as they have in recent weeks.
Here are the rest of today’s stories:
In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:
- Can the Warriors build some momentum on the road by extending Dallas’ losing streak?
- Klay calls Dray ‘Mr. Everything’
- One interesting stat for each Warrior
- How the Warriors carved up the Timberwolves’ pick-and-roll coverages
- The Warriors keyed in on the Jazz’s most dangerous shooter — and it paid off
Other Warriors News:
- Inspired Draymond Green leading Warriors through troubled waters (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Steve Kerr believes Jordan Poole can be one of Warriors’ ‘best defenders’ (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Why Myers is bothered by players channeling ‘Mamba Mentality’ (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Five things to watch this week: Warriors, Lakers back on track? (ESPN)
- 3 things to watch as the Dallas Mavericks face off with the Golden State Warriors (SB Nation)
- Stephen Curry is fine with taking the fine (Twitter)
NBA News:
- Power Rankings, Week 7: Warriors return to Top 10 as season nears quarter-mark (NBA)
- Karl-Anthony Towns helped off court with right calf strain (NBA)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Deandre Ayton named NBA Players of the Week (NBA)
- Zion Williamson, by the numbers: What we’ve learned from a roller-coaster first 100 NBA games (ESPN)
- Struggling Mavericks to sign free agent Kemba Walker, waive Facundo Campazzo: Sources (The Athletic)
- 2023 NBA Draft Top 100 Big Board: Wembanyama at the top; plus, Emoni Bates returns (The Athletic)