Perhaps the scariest thing about a Golden State Warriors team that sits at 16-2 prior to their Thursday night matchup against the Houston Rockets, is that the pieces are still just starting to come together.
As evidenced by a 149-106 demolition of the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 23, stars like Kevin Durant are just starting to scratch the surface. Veteran wing Andre Iguodala has seen the evidence first hand, defending him during regular season games and in the playoffs during Durant's time at Oklahoma City, and now facing him on a daily basis during practice.
“KD has been just about as good as you can possibly be (but) I don’t think he's really scratched the surface as far as what he can do,” Iguodala said following Golden State's win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, according to USA Today's Sam Amick. “He's kind of holding back on everyone else, so I'm looking forward for him to step on that pedal as we continue.”
The 28-year-old has put up 27.1 points (seventh in NBA) on a surreal 57 percent shooting (sixth) from the field and 44.2 percent from deep (12th), along with 8.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks during an 18-game start to the season.
“I'm telling you, he’s got a crazy arsenal,” Iguodala added. “He's one of the best scorers of all time as far as finding a way to score. It's (like) peeling layers – it's kind of like an onion. It's crazy. It's amazing. You guys will see it, and you'll enjoy it… I think sometimes he's trying to make sure he doesn't shoot too many shots, but we're trying to let him know that it's impossible for him to shoot too many shots.”
A system predicated on ball movement and player motion has been the blessing Durant had been waiting for after coming from a somewhat stagnant offensive system that required him or Russell Westbrook to have incredible nights on their own to come up with wins. His performance during the first fifth of the season could be described as almost effortless.
“I try to think about so much when I'm playing, but sometimes you've just got to say ‘Forget it' and just go,” Durant admitted. “Who cares who shoots? Our offense is so free-flowing that the ball is going to find the open guys. If you move, you get open, you're going to get shots. Some nights I might have it, some nights Steph (Curry) might have it or Klay (Thompson) might have it, but I don't think any one of us really cares if someone shoots more shots than us.”
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