The Weekly Dish

With four more victories last week, the Warriors have gotten off to the best start in the franchise's West Coast era.

For the week of Monday, Nov. 9 – Sunday, Nov. 15

When the 2015-16 NBA schedule was released back in August, it took a mere few seconds to see that even if the Warriors didn’t suffer from a “championship hangover”, the early results could easily lead to that assumption. After all, their first five games came against Western Conference playoff teams from a year ago, all but one of which was dispatched from the postseason by the Warriors themselves. The one that wasn’t? That would be the Clippers, who don’t exactly lack animosity towards the reigning champs. So when you factored in the short offseason with the tough opening slate of games against opponents who had every reason to crank it up a notch against the Dubs, it didn’t take a huge leap to deduce that the deck was stacked against the Warriors getting off to a blazing start. Well, so much for that.

After victories over the Grizzlies, Clippers, Nuggets and Kings last week, the Warriors not only got through the opening five games of the season unscathed, but extended their success to seven-consecutive wins, the best start in the franchise’s West Coast era. It seems as though the Warriors are making franchise and/or league history on a nightly basis, and yet, they’re using the same recipe that lent itself to such enormous success a season ago. Despite being without Steve Kerr all season, missing Andrew Bogut for all but the first game, and not having first round pick Kevon Looney available, the Warriors have gotten off to a blistering start that would seem to indicate this isn’t just the same group that won the NBA Championship this past June, but rather, one that is getting better and better, as scary as that sounds. Don’t believe me? Just look at the stats:

The Warriors aren’t just beating their opponents by an absurd average of 18.3 point per game - they’re performing better in nearly every major statistical category compared to a year ago. They’re averaging more than two more assists per game while holding their turnovers steady. They’re not only accumulating more rebounds per game, but hauling in an additional 3.3 percent of all available rebounds throughout the course of a game. They’re getting to the free throw line for more than five more attempts per game, while converting at just a slightly lower rate. While they’re shooting a slightly lower percentage from the field as a team, their opponents have suffered a much greater drop-off in comparison. They’re grossing an additional 7.7 points per 100 possessions this season, while shooting at a nearly identical clip and playing at a faster pace. Just like last season, they rank second in the NBA in team defense, first in the league in offense, and are one of only four teams in the NBA to improve in both categories. It was going to be extremely tough for Golden State to surprise fans and pundits alike in a positive way with the results from their first two weeks of games this season, but as usual, they’ve taken our “realistic” expectations and thrown them by the wayside.

When you play as well as the Warriors have been playing, there are going to be several players worthy of this weekly designation, but alas, I can only pick one. It could have easily gone to Stephen Curry, who simply averaged 29.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists in only 33.7 minutes per game the week after being named Player of the Week in his conference. Or, perhaps it should have gone to Festus Ezeli, who has filled in admirably for Andrew Bogut and who set a personal best with his current four-game streak in double digit scoring. But no, this week, it’s Draymond Green getting the nod, mainly for the all-around contributions we’ve become so accustomed to seeing from him. In the Warriors’ four victories last week, Green posted averages of 10.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 34.2 minutes, reaching double digits in scoring in every game while leading the team in total plus-minus (+70) for the week. His ability to serve as a playmaker in the paint has become even more crucial in Bogut’s absence, and he’s clearly up to the task. His 41 assists on the season rank second on the team behind Curry’s 42, and second-most among all non-guards in the NBA, behind only LeBron James (45). As great as he’s been on offense, it hasn’t come at the expense of his relentless defense, where he’s maintained the level of play that garnered him First Team All-Defense last season, and the stats back it up. Green leads the league in individual plus-minus by 20 points, a number that balloons to 40 points if you eliminate all other Golden State players.

So if the opening two weeks of the season were supposed to be an incredibly tough gauntlet, then naturally things should be a little bit easier upon getting through it, right? Well, sort of. The Warriors open their first of four games this week with a matchup against the Detroit Pistons tonight at Oracle Arena. At 5-1, the Pistons are playing their best basketball in a long time, and with two-time reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week Andre Drummond putting up Wilt Chamberlain-like numbers in the middle, this is not going to be an easy introduction into inter-conference play for the Warriors, as this represents their first game against an Eastern Conference team this season. Following Monday’s tilt, the Warriors head out on a two-game, two-night road trip, beginning Wednesday night in Memphis. The Grizzlies will surely be looking to avenge their 50-point defeat at the hands of the Warriors last week, and one would expect the final score margin to be significantly thinner. From Memphis, Golden State heads to Minnesota for a matchup with the young Timberwolves on the back end of a back-to-back. The Dubs then round out the week with a home game on Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets, who are still looking for their first win of the season. It’s already been the best start to a season in the Warriors’ West Coast era, but with four more games this week, they have a chance to extend that even further.

Till next week.

The Dish has been served.