3 reasons for Warriors optimism: Klay Thompson is cooking, defense is clicking entering postseason

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The Golden State Warriors are making a surge but it hasn’t yet resulted in any sort of meaningful movement in the standings. In winning nine of their past 10 games, they’ve merely gone from No. 10 to 9 on the play-in ledger, which means they would still have to win two elimination games to secure the No. 8 seed, which, in turn, would mean a likely first-round matchup with the Nuggets. 

Not great. 

But there is reason for optimism if you’re a Golden State fan clinging to the hope of what could be a final playoff run for the Curry/Thompson/Green trio — depending on whether Thompson resigns with the team this summer. 

One, the Warriors are currently tied with the Kings for the No. 8 seed. They both have two games to play. Sacramento owns the tiebreaker in both two- and three-team scenarios so Golden State needs to finish one game up on the Kings. It’s doable. The Warriors play New Orleans and Utah. The Kings play Phoenix and Portland. 

If the Warriors grab the No. 8 seed and win their first play-in game, which are two big ifs, then we can start to think about potential first-round upsets over Minnesota or OKC in a 2-7 matchup, and from there, who knows? Below are three reasons for Warriors playoff optimism other than the obvious “they have Stephen Curry” — which is actually the biggest reason for hope. 

1. Defense is clicking

The Warriors’ dynastic heyday was popularly defined by offense, but defense was actually the bedrock of their domination. This season’s unit isn’t anywhere close to the core that boasted the likes of prime Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut. Still, it’s pretty damn good and getting better with the insertion of Trayce Jackson-Davis into the starting lineup. 

Since the All-Star break, the Warriors have had the sixth-best defense in the league. The five-man unit of Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Green, and Jackson-Davis has an impregnable 94.0 defensive rating. Although that lineup has only played 60 minutes together, it has outscored opponents by 22 points per 100…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/3-reasons-for-warriors-optimism-klay-thompson-is-cooking-defense-is-clicking-entering-postseason/

Author : Brad Botkin

Publish date : 2024-04-12 20:44:23

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