After Tuesday night’s alarming 125-113 loss to the severely depleted Phoenix Suns, the Warriors have officially made it through half the regular season.
The defending NBA champions are 20-21, tied for eighth place in the Western Conference. They’re sitting on the edge of the play-in tournament.
As the eye test and record suggest, advanced metrics peg the Warriors as a middling team so far. They rank 17th in offensive rating and 19th in defensive rating. They play fast and shoot a ton of 3s while also turning the ball over constantly (29th in turnover rate). They don’t get to the line and have struggled to defend without fouling.
To get to this point, Golden State absorbed extended absences from Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins and moved past the preseason drama caused by Draymond Green. They’re still working through finding the right combinations of youth and experience, starters and reserves, shooting and defense. They’ve gone 17-5 in the Chase Center and a league-worst 3-16 on the road.
Here are some high school yearbook style superlatives to sum up the first half of the Warriors’ 2022-23 season.
MVP: Draymond Green
Two-time league MVP Stephen Curry — in the midst of a breathtaking 50/40/90 season — of course has a claim to this award, but he’s only played in 27 of Golden State’s 41 games.
Green, meanwhile, has played in 37. And while his counting stats pale compared to Curry’s, and several other Warriors, the four-time All-Star has been indispensable.
Green has always been a superstar in his role, and he’s perhaps as valuable to this Warriors team as ever. He’s the glue that holds the defense at its seams and the connector that keeps GSW’s free-flowing offense humming.
When he’s on the floor, Warriors opponents have a 111.0 offensive rating. When he’s on the bench, that number soars to 119.8. For reference, the Brooklyn Nets posted the highest ever team offensive rating two seasons ago at 118.3. Teams playing the Warriors without Green are, on average, the greatest offense ever.
Green’s overall on/off numbers are striking, with a net difference of +20.8 — higher than Curry’s +13.5
The Warriors deployed Green with the second unit earlier in the season to stabilize a struggling bench and he’s the biggest reason Golden State has survived during Curry’s shoulder injury.
If Curry is the team’s engine, Green is its impenetrable exterior. Without him, the Warriors would be left nakedly vulnerable.
Most Memorable Press Conference Moment: Klay vs. Sir Charles
When Klay Thompson wants to get something off his chest, man, he really lets it all out.
Thompson’s genuineness is refreshing. And while the entire saga was somewhat strange, he balanced it out with emotional nuance.
Unsung Hero: Anthony Lamb
Out of essentially nowhere, Lamb has provided key minutes as a floor-spacer and heady defender.
The undrafted former Vermont standout is on his third team in as many years but is uniquely fitted for Golden State’s play style. He makes quick reads, can shoot from deep and can defend multiple positions.
Lamb set a new career high with 26 points last Saturday and is averaging 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in his last eight games. Three of Golden State’s five top-performing lineups feature him.
He’s still on a two-way deal, but perhaps not for long.
Most Likely to Thrive in the Second Half: Klay Thompson
In his past six games, Thompson is averaging 32.8 points while shooting 45.8% from the field and 40.5% from 3. He’s en fuego.
Early on in the season, it looked like Thompson was pressing a bit. No longer. He’s found his rhythm and the strutting, scowling confidence that comes with it.
“I think he was a little stressed earlier in the season,” Steve Kerr said recently. “Slow start out of camp, had the minutes restriction, he was trying to force the issue. I do think he’s emerged from that and is playing more relaxed, that’s one of the reasons he’s playing better. He’s kind of letting things come to him more now.”
Thompson is now a year removed from his long-awaited return from his catastrophic injuries. The more time he spends on the court, the more comfortable he’ll get. There’s no reason to bet against him improving even more during GSW’s stretch run.
Best Highlight: Kevon Looney’s tip drill game-winner
Not only did the putback against the Hawks give the Warriors a thrilling double-overtime win, it came from who the team considers its moral compass.
Kevon Looney, the wise, selfless, dependable center, is worthy of every awesome moment that falls his way. This one happened to drop right into his arms in a tie game as the game clock expired.
Looney, like he tends to be, was in the perfect place at the perfect time to create the perfect ending to an early contender of Game of The Year.
Biggest Lowlight: The Utah choke job
Easily the lowest single point of the season so far was letting the Jazz score five consecutive points in the final moments to lose 124-123.
A defensive lapse somehow allowed Utah to both get to the rim and attempt a wide open 3-pointer (the Jazz chose the latter). Then Jordan Poole didn’t secure the ball, immediately coughing up a turnover on the ensuing inbound. The miscue allowed the Jazz to score the game-winning dunk on the other end.
The Warriors blew a four-point lead in 13.3 seconds with the nightmare sequence. It was an inexcusable loss that rattled the team.
Honorable mention: For fear of recency bias, let’s let Game No. 41’s loss to the Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and DeAndre Ayton-less Suns marinate before crowning it.
Worst Supporting Actor: James Wiseman
For almost the entirety of the first half, James Wiseman has been unplayable.
Wiseman has been up and down with the G League team during the opening months after he failed to make a positive impact with the Warriors. He’s looked lost on defense and skunked layups. He hasn’t made the requisite snappy decisions on offense with the ball in his hands. And as a roll man, he hasn’t been as threatening as his frame would suggest he should be.
Wiseman ranks 486th out of 494 registered players in plus-minus (-6.2). He’s been one of the most implosive forces in the NBA.
Most Improved: Jonathan Kuminga
By embracing the idea of being a defensive stopper, Kuminga has solidified himself in Golden State’s rotation. Focusing on defense is the easiest way for Kuminga to earn playing time at this stage of his career, and on this particular team, and it’s a major development that he’s committed to that role.
Before a sprained ankle sidelined him, Kuminga averaged 23.4 minutes in 13 games. He finished 6-for-6 and helped close out the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 27 in what was a signature moment of his young career.
Getting consistent playing time should only help Kuminga continue to develop.
Most Promising Stat: 21.3
The Warriors, through all the noise, still have the single best lineup in the NBA.
Golden State’s starting unit of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney has the highest net rating of any five-man unit with at least 150 minutes (they have played 287 together).
The bench has been broken for much of the year, but the Warriors always know they can fall back on their starting five. And when the stakes get higher, Kerr can turn the toggle up on his best player’s minutes, and that may prove to be the greatest equalizer.
Most Alarming Stat: 0-4
The Golden State Warriors are 0-4 vs. the Pistons and Magic combined.
The last-place Pistons are 11-33. The Magic aren’t much better at 16-26.
In most of those losses, the Warriors competed but just couldn’t get over the hump in tight games. Saddiq Bey beat them on a buzzer beater and Jalen Suggs took over an early November fourth quarter.
Failure to handle less talented teams may be the biggest symptom of a sort of championship hangover. No matter what, it’s concerning.