Just five games into the 2010-11 NBA season I am becoming a believer in Golden State coach Keith Smart.
When the Warriors announced that Smart would be replacing Don Nelson this offseason I was anxious to see if he would truly be able to change the losing culture considering he has been Nelson’s top assistant for the past six seasons. Needless to say, the Warriors’ 4-1 start has eased more than a few fans’ concerns and brought hope to the area that had been lacking since the team’s stunning postseason upset of the Mavericks in 2007. Remember, Smart has a mediocre head coaching resume (9-31 for Cleveland in 2002-03) and many wondered if the team would respond based on his closeness with Nelson.
What exactly has changed? For starters, the team deftly went out and acquired a legit power forward in David Lee (for a king’s ransom, I admit) - while his pick-and-roll and help defense need considerable work, the guy works his butt off and is contributing twelve points and rebounds per night. Despite the fact that Lee is not converting his jump shot off the pick-and-roll efficiently yet he has helped the Warriors to a rebounding edge in four of five games this season. The Warriors, people! Biedrins and Lee are forming quite the glass-cleaning tandem, and Biedrins in particular looks like he’s playing with fire in his belly, something that hasn’t happened for some time now.
Want proof of the rebounding improvement? Last season the Warriors averaged a paltry 38.4 boards per game - this season they are pulling down over fifty a night!
How about that defense?! This was an area that was in dire need of a make-over, and early returns suggest that Smart has put a plan in place. After holding the Jazz to just 78 points in their previous game they are balancing a decent offensive attack (106.6 points per 100 possessions, good for 13th) with a surprisingly above average defense which ranks 11th in points per 100 possessions. Their defensive ranking is even more outstanding considering they are 4th in the NBA in pace factor (98.3 possessions) - in comparison they ranked first in the league in that category last season but placed a miserable 29th in defensive rating. They are forcing seventeen-plus turnovers per game and I don’t see, barring boredom, where this will change based on their personnel.
Their defense has improved considerably for a few reasons, but from what I’ve seen it comes down to effort (not there last season much of the time), discipline in the post by their newly motivated bigs, and their ball-hawking guards Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry.
Ellis and Curry are forcing turnovers like crazy (including eight by Deron Williams alone on Friday) and are playing off each other pretty well offensively. Their positions may be similar but their games are not - Ellis is lightning quick and an impossible match-up for slower guards when he plays under control and minimizes the long bombs from downtown. His averages of 28.6 points and 3.0 steals lead the team and if he starts nailing freebies a scoring title might be up for grabs. I pity the guy trying to stop him in transition - good luck to you!
Curry also continues to impress me with his sweet shooting stroke and desire to involve everyone in the offense, leading to 20 points and 7.7 assists per outing. His efficient shooting percentage this season (.548 from the floor, .385 from three) can be attributed to a higher-percentage shot selection but also the attention paid to Lee on offense, which allows Curry more room on the perimeter. While he continues to be bullied at times by bigger guards the team positions itself pretty well to help him when necessary.
Dorell Wright has also been a revelation as a starter, averaging 17.8 points so far (his career high is 7.9 ppg) while shooting a ridiculous .528 from long-range. I don’t believe he will sustain these numbers as defenses key on him more, but it’s nice to see the former 19th overall pick play up to his potential so far this season. Think Miami is upset it let him go thus far?
My concerns for Golden State range from their sub-par defensive rotations, a pretty top-heavy roster which will need to play starters huge amounts of minutes to acquire a playoff spot in the West (think Suns, circa 2005), an offense that can be chaotic at times, and that their bigs are playing defense over their heads right now. Oh, and their lack of a big guard in the backcourt may hurt them come playoff time (if they get in) but I have been wrong about this before, so don’t heed those words just yet.
Despite these potential issues and that the season is still young, these Warriors are not falling off the map like previous editions because FINALLY there is a voice of reason in place who understands that attention to defense belongs in the pro game and that, while unorthodox line-ups work at times, sometimes utilizing the talent that you have can pay big dividends in the future.
The rabid Warrior fan-base certainly deserves this kind of start. I hope for their sake they can sustain it.
**UPDATE: **Hours after I wrote this the Warriors were defeated by the winless Detroit Pistons - don’t let me down like that!