The Weekly Dish

For a first-time head coach, Steve Kerr sure does seem like he’s been here before. Maybe that’s because he has...sort of.

For the week of Monday, Dec. 8 – Sunday, Dec. 14

For a first-time head coach, Steve Kerr sure does seem like he’s been here before. Maybe that’s because he has...sort of. After four more wins this past week over Minnesota, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans, the Warriors remain atop the NBA standings with a record of 21-2, making them just the ninth team in league history to win 21 of its first 23 games. Five of the previous eight teams to accomplish that feat went on to reach the NBA Finals, four of which ultimately won the NBA Championship. And while it’s fun to imagine this year’s Warriors following suit and eventually joining that group, Steve Kerr has no desire to entertain that far-off possibility. Not right now and not publicly, at least.

As a player, Kerr won 21 of 23 games not once, not twice, but three times in his championship-decorated career. Naturally due to his connection to both teams, Kerr has recently been getting lots of questions about comparing his current team to the ’95-’96 Bulls, who went 72-10. His typical response is part-laughter, part-dismissal; he has no delusions of juxtaposing the two. After all, those Bulls had Michael Jordan, and the Warriors, as talented as they are, simply do not. Not a single player on the current team has any NBA Finals experience for that matter, and so while it’s worthwhile to appreciate the rarity of what’s currently transpiring with the Dubs, Kerr is reminding everyone to pump the brakes a little bit, and rightfully so. If the regular season were a football field, the Warriors just reached their own 28-yard line with that overtime squeaker in New Orleans on Sunday. They’re driving, and they sure do look impressive, but the vast majority of the journey to pay dirt still remains ahead of them. Basically, don’t feel bad for getting excited about the Warriors’ historic start; just don’t be shocked that Kerr and his players aren’t planning any parades right now.

The Warriors are playing so well right now, they’re making it incredibly tough to single out one standout performer. So, call me a cheater, but this week I’m picking three. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year and a half, you know by now that the Splash Brothers form the best backcourt in the NBA, and if the Dubs are playing well, chances are either of them could be a reasonable selection for this highly desired designation. Arguably the two most prolific outside shooters in the NBA, Thompson has scored at least 20 points in seven-straight games, while Curry has added to his already-deadly repertoire, ranking as the second-best finisher at the rim among all guards in the league. Yet, when the Warriors are most dangerous is when the supporting cast gets in on the action. In each of the Dubs’ final three victories to close out the week, a different member of the team joined the Splash Brothers to form a trifecta of 20-point scorers. Harrison Barnes notched 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the win over the Rockets, Draymond Green matched him with 20-points against the Mavericks, and Andre Iguodala set a season-high with 20 points in New Orleans. Considering the Warriors played each of those games without Andrew Bogut, it was all the more imperative that a third member of the team be someone the opposition had to account for. Barnes, Green and Iguodala filled that void, and further cemented the team’s reputation as perhaps the deepest in the league.

The Warriors catch a bit of a breather this week, at least in terms of quantity. With only two games in the next seven days, the Dubs have a chance to recoup some of the energy expended on their current 16-game winning streak. They’re going to need it too, because their opponents, although diminutive in number, are quite formidable in stature. The Warriors will close out their road trip in Memphis on Tuesday against the 19-4 Grizzlies, the only team within two games of Golden State in the standings. It will mark the first time in NBA history that two teams with at least 19 wins will meet in the first 23 games of either team’s schedule. After what will surely be a bruising affair in the Grindhouse, the Dubs will return home to take on the Thunder on Thursday. Winners of their last six with Kevin Durant now healthy and back in the fold, Oklahoma City is clawing their way back to the rest of the pack of Western Conference contenders after an injury-riddled start to the season. It always seems to be a thrilling matchup when the two teams face off, with both sides winning on buzzer-beaters a season ago, and the smart money is on this encounter being no different. The Dubs will certainly have their hands full in both games, but after the precedent they’ve set thus far, there’s no reason to believe they’re incapable of stretching the win streak to 18.