Are the Golden State Warriors BACK to Championship Form?

Are the Golden State Warriors finally showing the world their true brand of basketball?

As of early December, the Warriors have improved and worked their way back up to a .500 record. Despite some hiccups and close calls in the Warriors’ last few games, other things have been going well for the Warriors, which can help them turn the curve. There are five unknown factors NBA fans need to notice about the Warriors. And today, we’re going to break down all of it!

Draymond Green is looking like his 2015-2016 self

First, Draymond Green looks like his old self this season. Aside from punching the lights out of Jordan Poole in October, Draymond has been lights out in terms of defense and offense, too. He’s going to attack if he wants to. You can really see here Towns was expecting Draymond Green to give the ball back to Curry, but what Draymond did is he aggressively drove inside to find the open Jamychal Green for an open dunk.

The second unit is finally stepping up

For the second factor, the Warriors’ second unit is finally stepping it up! I’m sure you already know the result whenever Draymond sets the tone. Clearly, the bench follows. Led by Jordan Poole, the second unit with JaMychal Green, Donte Divincenzo, and Jonathan Kuminga has been playing absolutely well lately!

In their game against Dallas, Second-year forward Jonathan Kuminga had a mini-breakout game, playing 26 minutes and recording 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 10 rebounds, and two blocks. Head coach Steve Kerr was extremely pleased with his effort, saying, “Best game I’ve ever seen JK play.” In addition, over the last three games, Kuminga is averaging 7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 69.2% from the field.

Aside from JK’s breakout, other role players like Anthony Lamb, JaMychal Green, Donte Divincenzo, Jordan Poole, and the rest of the bench are all making good progress offensively, but what stood out the most is their progress on the defensive end. The Warriors recognize that their level of defense this year was far from their level last year.

Andrew Wiggins is again playing like an All-Star

Last November 24th, Steph Curry was asked in an interview whether Andrew Wiggins should be an All-Star after Wiggins scored a season-high 31 points. His answer? “What kind of debate is that?” As of early December, Andrew Wiggins is definitely playing like an All-Star again. He is averaging 18.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals on career-high shooting percentages — 49.7% from the floor and 43.9% from three-point range. Aside from that, Wiggins has been the Warriors’ second-best defender.

The Klay offense is back!

The Warriors have played their best basketball since their terrible November 16th loss to the Phoenix Suns. After that loss, Thompson decided to prioritize team goals over individual ones. This inspired the Golden State Warriors to culminate its true brand of beautiful offensive basketball.

The Warriors have the best point guard in the world

Lastly, the most notable factor that is helping the Warriors turn their season around is none other than the legend, Stephen Curry. He’s been firing on all cylinders, and nobody can stop him! The only thing that can stop him is if the opposing team turns the lights off. Jokes aside, let’s talk about how good Chef Curry has been this season. The only other player in NBA history comparable to what Steph Curry is doing right now is…well Steph Curry himself, during his unanimous MVP season in 2016. He is putting up historically great numbers right now, and his month of November broke an NBA record that was initially set by himself. In February of 2016, Curry became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 70% or better true shooting. This November 2022, he was even better as he averaged 31.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game on 70.9% true shooting. Curry became the first player in NBA history to average those numbers for an entire month. Not only is Curry still dominant, but he may be playing the best basketball of his illustrious career.

The question remains: Is their recent mini-turnaround enough to suggest the Golden State Warriors are poised to make another championship run this season? The answer is yes; Golden State is still a title contender. However, they have a lot of work to do to make their dream a reality, and much of this will be led by the defensive expertise of Green, the consistency of the second unit, Andrew Wiggins’ effectiveness, Klay Thompson’s offensive capabilities, and Stephen Curry’s greatness. Thanks for watching, and as always, until next time!

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