Growth of Warriors’ sharp defensive teeth fueling hot start to season

Growth of Warriors’ sharp defensive teeth fueling hot start to season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors spent much of the first quarter Wednesday night trying to find their collective pulse and five minutes after tipoff were trailing by 11. That’s a dangerous way for any team to introduce itself to the defending champion Celtics, particularly in Boston.

Gary Payton II entered with 7:21 remaining in the quarter. Over the next seven minutes, the Celtics missed eight of nine shots, committed three turnovers and suddenly realized these were not the same Warriors they smashed by 52 last March at TD Garden.

Golden State discovered its pulse mostly with a defense that was beating with enough force to power a 118-112 victory that surely attracted notice around the NBA.

“Once we settled into the game, we did a good job of getting into them, making them a little uncomfortable,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters in Boston.

“It’s a statement,” said Buddy Hield, who entered the game 84 seconds after GP2.  “If we don’t win this game, everybody is like, ‘Oh, they don’t play anybody.’ So, you’ve got to come and make a statement, right?”

For all the talk about depth and greater emphasis on 3-point shooting, any statement the Warriors make this season must begin with the defense. It has to be the source behind any leap toward success because it plays into their depth, their desired rapid pace and those transition 3-balls that deflate opponents.

The Warriors have won seven of their first eight games because defense is becoming routine. They’re swarming and trapping and lurking in the passing lines. It’s enough to put the most feared offense in the league on its heels.
The Celtics, who entered the game as the NBA’s highest-scoring team, managed seven points over the final seven minutes of the opening quarter and 26 points over the final 16:38 of the first half. They shot 35.1 percent for the half.

“We just try to keep bodies on bodies in the halfcourt,” Stephen Curry said. “We know they have a very specific style. They want to get up as many 3s as possible, they want to pick on…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/growth-warriors-sharp-defensive-teeth-162250824.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-11-07 16:22:00

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