Early Preseason Takeaways

With less than two weeks to go until Opening Night, we take a look at some of the main takeaways from the first half of preseason action.

After three games in the first six days of the preseason schedule, the Warriors have been in the midst of an oddly long break in between games, as the Dubs don’t play again until they square off with the Nuggets in Denver tomorrow. That’s more than a week between matchups, and while the extra time has offered Steve Kerr and the Warriors a chance to ramp up their training and practice more complex actions and strategies, it also presents an opportunity to evaluate what has transpired in preseason thus far, and get more of an educated guess at what we can expect once ‘real’ games begin to be played. Less than two weeks lie between Golden State and Opening Night, and with that in mind, let’s take a look and what we’ve seen thus far:

The addition of Kevin Durant proved to be the unparalleled highlight of the NBA offseason, and while the Warriors obviously knew the kind of superstar they were adding to their arsenal, what wasn’t as readily apparent was precisely how all the pieces would fit and work together. In a small sample size of three games, Klay Thompson seems to be doing just fine with the transition. Thompson leads Golden State in both field goals and three-pointers made and attempted per game while also leading the team in scoring. He’s also averaging nearly one more field goal attempt and five more three-point attempts per 36 minutes than he did during the 2015-16 campaign, while also shooting considerably superior percentages from both ranges.

It’s no surprise, but Kevin Durant has already made his presence felt with the Dubs. He trails only Thompson in the shooting categories, ranks second on the team behind Curry in assists, and leads the team in both rebounding and blocks per game. In addition, he has had a positive impact in an area of need for the Dubs: team free throws.

Durant has always ranked at or near the very top of the league in both free throw attempts and free throw percentage, and his new team is already benefitting from the early returns of that talent. Last season, the Warriors ranked 23rd in the NBA with an average of 21.8 free throw attempts per game. Through the first three preseason games this year with Durant in tow, the Dubs have upped that number to 32.7 attempts per game; for reference, the Houston Rockets led the league in 2015-16 with an average of 29.4 free throw attempts per game. Given the accurate shooters the Warriors already possessed prior to adding Durant, as well as the additions of effective free throw shooters like Zaza Pachulia (career 74.6 FT%) and David West (career 81.9 FT%), it would stand to reason that the Warriors will not only get to the charity stripe more often this season, but also convert those opportunities at a higher clip as well.

Steve Kerr has plenty of reason to feel optimistic about the way his new-look bench has played and what direction they are headed. New and returning veterans like West, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston have and will continue to provide a steadying presence to that unit, while the Warriors’ collection of younger role players has produced promising results thus far. Most specifically, both Ian Clark and Patrick McCaw seem to have proven themselves dependable backcourt contributors off the bench, with the duo putting their promise on display in leading the Warriors’ fourth quarter comeback over the Kings on Friday. Clark "looks and feels like he belongs" according to Iguodala, and McCaw has simply been the revelation of preseason. If those two can continue their production into the regular season, Golden State’s bench could certainly be an improved unit compared to a year ago.

Golden State got dominated 58-42 on the glass by the Raptors in their first preseason game, which by no coincidence happens to be the Dubs’ only defeat thus far. The Warriors lost their top two centers from a season ago in the offseason, and Kerr admits they now lack the verticality in the paint that proved so beneficial and enabling to their defensive strategies over the last couple years. Granted, the additions of Pachulia and West should help mitigate that drop-off, but neither of them are the kind of player that is going to out-jump all others to grab a rebound way above the rim. JaVale McGee does happen to be that kind of player, and his possible inclusion on the regular season roster would give the Dubs some needed length and shot-blocking ability. Regardless, though, the Warriors are going to need an increased rebounding effort from their roster across the board, and Durant seems to understand that he, in particular, will play a crucial role in that endeavor.

"I’ve got to do a better job of getting in there and helping Zaza and Draymond out. And JaVale and D-West. I’ve got to go in there and help those guys out," said Durant following the loss to Toronto. "I feel I can be a double-double guy if I go in there and bang a little more than I have in the past…It’s just a matter of me developing that mindset and just going out there and doing it."

The Warriors have won both of their games since those remarks from Durant, outrebounding their opponent by an average of 7.0 boards per contest. So, while team rebounding continues to be a work-in-progress, there are already reasons for optimism.