Around 2017, I realized I was behind in using free Pandora. I still held on to my account for a few more years out of irrational attachment, long after everyone else had moved away from Pandora digital radio and toward Spotify. That’s what it feels like watching Golden State try to counter longer, more skilled, more athletic floor spacers who can also gobble up space defensively.
Oklahoma City’s best lineup is full of pterodactyls that have absurd length accompanied by accurate shooting. Conversely, Golden State has been doing it for years with a real roster from the Napoleon Complex. Even their offensive rebounding machine, Kevon Looney, is only 6-foot-9. Golden State’s most concerning numbers aren’t its 10-12 record, roster depth metrics or Klay Thompson’s shooting percentages. These are the glaring flaws of the Big 3. Progress is inevitable and the Big 3 has fallen behind. A year ago they were revealing their gray hair. Now Steve Kerr and the Warriors brass are throwing Rogaine on their Hall of Fame graybeards in the form of Chris Paul, Moses Moody and Dario Saric, and telling everyone everything is fine while their follicles thin out .
Over the past decade, Golden State’s golden era has been buoyed by one major piece, or rather three pieces, congealing into a whole. Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson have been consistent across four titles and six Finals appearances. They also risk becoming the Pandora roster of the NBA. Looney was a mainstay in the low post as a screener and rebounder, and they ran Harrison Barnes, Kevin Durant or Andrew Wiggins on the wing. Over the years, they have been the anchor point for various activities. Compositions of death.
In the past, their Big 3 was the pillar that supported the succession of the Warriors. Last season, their starting lineup was the only constant on a weighed roster down by one of the worst benches in the league. But for the first time, they are the problem and not the solution.
Look no further than Friday night’s loss to the Thunder. Oklahoma City has faced Golden State three times this season and each one has gone down to the wire. Their second meeting revealed Oklahoma City’s length advantage over Golden State. The Thunder were saved by another mental error from Green, his second in three contests, but that was only a microcosm of what troubled them.
Golden State’s 29 turnovers in the overtime loss were symptomatic of a group that has historically struggled to take care of the ball. Their 16 turnovers per night are fourth-worst in the league behind San Antonio, Portland, Detroit and Utah, four of the youngest teams in the league.
To make matters worse, the Big 3 were dominated in their minutes together. During the last decade, we could count on the Golden State trio and its plus-ones (Durant, Wiggins or Barnes) to break the will of opposing defenses. Those third quarter the fast runs are gone, as is the grueling efficiency of their Death Lineup.
This season, the tides are turning quickly with lineups featuring Klay Thompson, Steph Curry and Draymond Green. have accumulated a negative net rating for the first time during the Steve Kerr era. When you include Andrew Wiggins minutestheir roster deflates even further after being outscored by about three points per 100 possessions at a minus-8.61 when all four are off the court.
Thompson doesn’t shoot well enough to be a defensive liability and Green makes head plays that were excusable as they obliterated teams still trying to catch up. tiki-taka on hardwood.
Here’s how Golden State’s Big 3 combinations have performed through the first two months of this season compared to their production since their inaugural title in 2015.
The Warriors’ early dynasty was defined by its “Strength in Numbers” philosophy, but in reality, that bench was supported by a historic trio that outscored teams by nearly 20 points per 100 possessions. They lost the courage to strangle opposing teams when they stepped on the accelerator. By 2022, this benefit has been cut in half. Between the 2019 Finals and the 2022 playoffs, Curry, Green and Thompson played a total of 11 regular season minutes together. But when they came together in the playoffs, they once again elevated Golden State, but not to the heights they were accustomed to. Instead, the Big 3 received an added boost from Jordan Poole, Otto Porter, an aging Andre Iguodala, Nemanja Bjelica and Gary Payton II as part of the most reliable supporting cast with which Bob Myers, excluding Kevin Durant, has never associated them since.
THE 2015 and the 2018 playoffs were the only times Golden State dominated its opposing teams in the minutes the Big 3 sat during the playoffs. Last season, the lineup of Steph, Klay, Dray, Wiggins and Looney led the league in points allowed per 100 possessions (106.4), field goal percentage and points scored (128. 5), but their second unit was one of the worst in the league. .
Once the playoffs begin, the benches get shorter and each team relies heavily on the synergy between its stars. Golden State’s starters may no longer be able to outplay opposing teams.
Their 2022 championship feels more like a last hurray than anything else. Ironically, after last season’s debacle, Golden State held on when its Big 3 sat out. Their cornerstones simply aren’t holding up their end of the bargain. Even though their offensive production declines, they also manage to adapt well enough defensively to account for that decline. Two steps forward, three steps back.
At this point in the season, Thompson is on pace to earn a negative grade for the first time. since his rookie campaign and he showed no signs of escape this crisis. Los Angeles and Miami, going from play-in teams to Finals contenders, have warped our perception of the regular season, but Golden State is in trouble. Thompson’s demands for a max deal are based on his past accomplishments while his future looks bleak.
Changes should happen around Curry if their Big 3 isn’t capable of being the glue that keeps Golden State in the B tier of contenders. Sentiment and nostalgia are worthless in the playoffs. Especially to an ownership group that pays $167 million in luxury taxes. If the Warriors can’t even rectify their Deus Ex Machina roster, then this should be their last dance.
As a society, we are advancing technologically faster than ever. The same goes for the NBA, which is perpetually in motion. Golden State holding on for a decade is an incredible feat. But all good things must eventually come to an end.
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