Are the real Golden State Warriors back?
The Golden State Warriors will look to end their series against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs on Sunday.
The team coached by Steve Kerr, which leads 3-0 against Mike Malone’s team, is playing its best basketball all season. What have been the keys? Also, who is their most important player?
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket, the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves are battling for the other ticket to the Western Conference semifinals. Do either of them pose a real threat to these fired-up Warriors?
On the eve of Game 4, Jordan Poole recorded 86 points in his first three playoff games, the second most for any player in Warriors playoff history in his first three games. The other? The legendary Wilt Chamberlain.
Anyway, our experts answer these questions.
- Are the real Warriors back?
From what we’ve seen throughout the regular season and so far in the Playoffs, everything seems to indicate that they are. Klay Thompson’s recovery in the regular season was key to San Francisco’s return to the top of the Western Conference.
And the emergence of Poole in the series against the Nuggets, plus the contribution of an established player like Draymond Green, make the current Warriors look like those who dominated the NBA a few years ago. These factors have made Kevin Durant’s departure just a bitter anecdote in the history of the franchise.
- Who is the most important player for Golden State right now?
Tough choice… But I’ll go with Green. While it is true that Poole has taken over the reins of the team doing his best impression of Stephen Curry, it is the veteran forward who is the key to the Warriors’ good moment. Especially because of his defense on Nuggets center and MVP Nikola Jokic.
In this series, Green’s defense has caused the Serbian to shoot 13-of-36 (36%). Green has also forced six turnovers while defending Jokic as a primary defender. That’s tied for the most turnovers by a player against a single defender this postseason. Kevin Durant has committed six turnovers when being tagged by Jayson Tatum.
Green, likewise, joined LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd and Larry Bird as the only players in playoff history with 200 steals and 10 triple-doubles.
- If advancing, are the Warriors the favorite against the Memphis-TWolves winner?
If the Nuggets, who are one of the toughest teams in the West – and have Nikola Jokic leading the way, who could be the MVP – have been obliterated by the Warriors on the court, I see no way the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies can compete with Golden State in the next round.
The Warriors have allowed the Nuggets to score just 108.7 PPJ (on the season their average was 112.7 PPJ), and have crushed them defensively with 122.3 PPJ (on the season Denver allowed 110.4 PPJ). Many people forget that injuries were what stopped the Warriors dynasty.
And now that Curry, Thompson and Green are back on the court together again -with their veteran partner Andre Iguodala- there seems to be no opponent that can stop them in the playoffs in the West, and, perhaps, in the NBA.
