The Weekly Dish

The Warriors are cruising, and making more history from long range.

For the week of Monday, Feb. 1 – Sunday, Feb. 7

The Warriors can only play the team in front of them on any given night, and while their overall effort has tended to ebb and flow with quality of their opposition, the end result tends to be the same. Whether facing a team on pace for the best point differential in NBA history, or conversely, a team that has accumulated as many wins since the beginning of last season as the Warriors have in the last two months, the Warriors almost always seem to come out on top. After a slight stumble midway through January, the Warriors have found another gear, and with four more wins last week have extended their current winning streak to seven games. Of those seven wins, the first five came against teams currently in playoff position. Over the course of their current winning streak, the Dubs have averaged 33.4 assists per game and have accumulated at least 30 assists in each and every one of those victories. Ironically, the last team in NBA history to record 30-or-more assists in seven-straight games was none other than the Warriors in ’93-’94, who went 50-32 before being swept by the Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Considering Golden State currently sits at an unfathomable 44-4, you’d have to think the chances are pretty good that this year’s team seems headed for a considerably more impressive fate.

Last week I pointed out how the Warriors’ defense is often the prime determinant of their degree of success, and certainly, racking up 30-plus assists on a daily basis sure doesn’t hurt either. And while the Dubs have rightfully been lauded for their perimeter shooting for the last several seasons, their proficiency in that department has recently eclipsed yet another pinnacle that deserves some recognition. It may come as no surprise that the Warriors have made double-digit three-pointers in each game during their current winning streak, and have actually eclipsed that mark in 15 of their 16 contests since New Year’s Day. The Dubs have converted 214-of-488 attempts (.439) from long distance over that span, and have actually upped that to 46.3 percent (68-of-147) over their last five games. This recent team-wide surge has brought the Warriors’ team three-point shooting percentage to 42.83 percent on the season, which puts them on pace for the best team three-point shooting percentage in NBA history.

Since the introduction of the three-point field goal in 1979-80, only one team in league history has managed to shoot at least 42 percent from three-point land for a full season. That team was the 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets (42.76 percent), who just happened to have a sweet-shooting two-guard by the name of Dell Curry filling it up from long range. Family ties aside, the most impressive aspect of the Warriors’ connection to that Hornets team in three-point proficiency is the efficiency and volume with which they’ve surpassed them. In that 1996-97 season, the Hornets made 591 three-pointers on 1382 attempts, and 207 of those makes came from team-leader Glen Rice. As of today, the Warriors have made 618 of 1443 three-point attempts on the season, and Stephen Curry has already accounted for 221 treys on his own, with still 34 more regular season games left to play. Yes, teams take far and away more three-point attempts now than they did 20 years ago, but an increase in volume does not necessarily imply a decrease in difficulty. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. The fact that the Warriors have already eclipsed that record-setting Hornets team in both attempts and makes while combining for a better overall three-point shooting percentage is nothing short of mind-blowing. We knew they were a tremendous perimeter shooting team, but even this kind of pace could not have reasonably been expected. Their three-point shooting has only improved over the last month, and if they can keep that up, they may be headed for an additional team record that enters the fringe of “untouchable” territory.

Draymond Green just became the first player since, well, himself to post a triple-double and a perfect field goal percentage in the same game after doing so earlier this season, but it’s Klay Thompson getting the nod for the Spotlight. Excluding the Warriors’ blowout win over the Spurs on Monday in which he scored 11 points and was a plus-22 in just 25 minutes, Thompson averaged 37.0 points in Golden State’s three victories to close out the week, while shooting 65.6 percent (42-of-64) from the field and 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from three-point range. The three-game streak with 30-or-more points matches the longest such streak of his career, and as he reaffirmed once again on Sunday against the Knicks, the Warriors’ backcourt is just an unfair luxury. Even on the rare occasion in which Stephen Curry has an off night, Thompson is capable of filling it up at an equally prolific rate, leaving opposing defenses, Steve Kerr and fans alike with nothing to do but throw their hands up and shake their heads in amazement. There was no question he deserved to be an All-Star, a status that was confirmed with his selection as a Western Conference All-Star Reserve last week, and soon he’ll head to Toronto along with Curry and Green to form the Warriors’ first All-Star trio in 40 years.

The Warriors play only four more games before the All-Star break, and half of them come this week. First, the Dubs will look to finish off an undefeated road trip when they take on the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, before making their visit to the White House on Thursday as the reigning NBA champions. Then, it’s back to the Bay Area for the first of only two home games in all of February when the Warriors host the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday in the first matchup of the season of the two Western Conference powers. What the Warriors’ week lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality, and Saturday’s matchup in particular ought to be one of the more entertaining games of the entire season. With just four more games before the league pauses for the annual All-Star festivities, this week offers a great chance for the Warriors to build some more momentum heading into the break.

Till next week.