For the first time in quite a long time, the Golden State Warriors find themselves at the bottom of the standings to start the 2019-20 NBA regular season.
Winners of just two of their first 11 games, the Steve Kerr-led team has simply been making do with what they have, fielding an almost unrecognizable lineup from their days as a Western Conference powerhouse thanks to offseason departures and early-season injuries.
Most pundits expected them to lose that veil of invincibility they had in prior seasons, but only few could have predicted the drastic fall from grace they’re experiencing at the moment.
Still, all is not lost for the Dubs, as there are some noticeable positives in their early campaign. Let’s take a look at what the Dubs have going on for them, despite their 2-9 start and a litany of health problems.
DLo has been ballin’ out of his mind lately
After losing Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston in the offseason, the Warriors still managed to salvage free agency by acquiring D’Angelo Russell in the KD sign-and-trade.
Russell, who made his first All-Star team last year, was used to having the ball in his hands throughout his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets. He struggled to share the ball-handling responsibilities with Stephen Curry early on and averaged just 16.3 points in October.
Russell dropped 30 points against the San Antonio Spurs to start November, but he missed the next three games due to an ankle injury.
With Curry sidelined for an extended period, Russell returned with a vengeance and assumed the role as top dog for the Dubs. He dropped a combined 115 points in Golden State’s last three games – including a career-high 52 point explosion against the Minnesota Timberwolves .
Russell is currently averaging 26.3 points on 45.1 percent shooting from the field and 39.1 percent from 3-land.
The Dubs are the best free-throw shooting team in the league
The Warriors currently rank at the bottom of several major statistical categories this season, but they are actually No. 1 in one area.
The team currently has the best free-throw shooting percentage in the league (86.5), which is 3 percentage points better than the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors, who both shoot at a 83.5 percent clip.
Overall free-throw attempts, however, is a different story. The Warriors are ranked 12th (24.9), and they can certainly get more easy scoring opportunities if they can bump those free-throw attempts up in the coming games.
Rookies aren’t doing too bad
The Warriors didn’t get the cream-of-the-crop from the 2019 draft class, but they still managed to pick up some hidden gems along the way.
With plenty of playing opportunities open due to the roster’s current state, unheralded guys like Eric Paschall (15.6 points on 52.8 percent shooting), Jordan Poole (9.6 points and 2.2 assists), and Ky Bowman (6.6 points on 36.8 percent from 3) all have had their moments.
It's still quite too early to tell if these guys will be part of Golden State’s future core. But one thing's for sure, their stock has certainly risen and they could play important roles moving forward.
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