If you just read all the criticism levied at the Golden State Warriors this season without looking at the standings, you might be shocked to discover that they hold the NBA’s best record at 33-6.
That’s because with expectations at an all time high after signing Kevin Durant this offseason, Golden State has become easy to nitpick every time they don’t blow out an opponent by 20 points. ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz joined The Audible on Wednesday morning, and explained how the unprecedented talent on the Warriors makes them a hard team to talk about.
“It’s tough to talk about the Warriors right because you just said they look deflated…they’ve won six out of seven and had sort of this freaky fourth quarter,” Arnovitz said. “They certainly have some things to answer for, it’s just so hard to figure out where the threshold of concern is for a team that’s probably going to win 65 or 70 games – and by the way, if they win 63 should we panic? If they win 72 should we pencil them in? I’m increasingly finding it difficult to evaluate where the concern should be. How concerned should I be and just generally prognosticate them, are they in a good place? I don’t know.”
The issue de jour with the Warriors has to do with their inefficient offense in the fourth quarter, something that came to a head in Golden State’s collapse against Memphis last week. Arnovitz agrees with Draymond Green’s assessment that the loss was ultimately good for Golden State, and for Kevin Durant, who needs to realize that the iso ball that he defaulted to in Oklahoma City is not going to fly with the Warriors.
Regardless of these minor issues, Arnovitz believes the Warriors’ overall firepower will be enough to overcome any opponent, even if they are able to take one of Golden State’s scorers out of the game.
“Every time you get concerned about the Warriors you go back to that general reality, which is who are you going to guard?” Arnovitz said. “You’ve got one (DeAndre) Liggins, (Tony) Allen, (Andre) Roberson and Luc Mbah a Moute – that’s it. So pick your poison.”
Listen to the full interview below.