The trade deadline came and went with the Golden State Warriors barely lifting a finger.
Sending Cory Joseph and $5.8 million to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a second-round pick lowered Joe Lacob's tax bill and opened up a roster spot, but will hardly help the Dubs on their quest to re-emerge as contenders over the back half of 2023-24. Fortunately, any disappointment stemming from that deadline stasis was mitigated a few hours after it passed with another performance that suggests Golden State really has turned the corner.
The Warriors beat the the Indiana Pacers 131-109 on Thursday night, their second blowout road victory over a surefire Eastern Conference playoff team in as many nights. Joel Embiid missed Wednesday's game and the Pacers didn't have Doug McDermott available after moving Buddy Hield earlier in the day, sapping them of dead-eye shooting and throwing a wrench into Rick Carlisle's regular rotation. Don't get too bogged down in those details, though.
It wasn't even a full month back that Golden State suffered humiliating back-to-back home losses to the Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans. The Warriors fell to the woefully depleted Memphis Grizzlies just three weeks ago, then endured one of the most tragic events in recent NBA history a few days later when revered assistant coach Dejan Milojevic suffered a fatal heart attack. No one would've been surprised if the season completely unraveled from there, the Dubs' already-fragile collective state fractured beyond repair.
Instead, this team is suddenly playing by far its best basketball of 2023-24 as the All-Star break fast approaches.
Golden State just finished a crucial five-game road trip 4-1, that lone loss coming in overtime to the Atlanta Hawks as Stephen Curry dropped 60 points, Andrew Wiggins didn't play the second half due to injury and Klay Thompson shot 2-of-13 from deep. The Warriors' average point differential on that trip? A gaudy +13.8, a ringing indicator their sustained past struggles are firmly in the rearview mirror.
After the Thursday's game, Steve Kerr acknowledged what's been abundantly clear basically since Golden State resumed its season a couple weeks ago, committing to lineups featuring Draymond Green at center with the surging Jonathan Kuminga and rejuvenated Wiggins next to him.
“This feels like the best version of us,” Kerr said. “With the starting lineup playing the way they are, bringing guys off the bench who are bringing great energy and effort, execution. It’s definitely a nice run that we’re on. We gotta keep carrying it forward.”
New small-ball lineups driving Dubs' success
The loss to Atlanta wasn't the Warriors' only heartbreaking one since they returned to the floor following Deki's passing. They lost by one to the Sacramento Kings at home on January 24th after Curry mishandled his dribble on the game's final possession, then fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in a double-overtime instant-classic at Chase Center two days later.
A team like Golden State doesn't count moral victories. Still, it speaks to the extent of the Warriors' midseason turnaround that they're just a few bounces the other way from being undefeated in their last nine games. A record of 6-3 will do instead, especially because their new process seems bound to continue sparking winning results going forward.
Green's multiple suspensions, Wiggins' career-worst struggles and Kuminga's inability to land a consistent role prevented that trio from getting much simultaneous run prior to January 24th. They notched just 36 total minutes across 10 games before then, per NBA.com/stats. Over the last nine games, the majority of which they've started? Green, Kuminga and Wiggins have played 147 minutes, posting an utterly dominant +29.6 net rating.
That triumvirate was on the floor for 12 minutes—a third of its season-long mark coming entering the game—in the Warriors' feel-good win over the Hawks on January 24th despite both Green and Kuminga coming off the bench. After the game, ClutchPoints asked Kerr what he liked from that group.
“Good speed and athleticism. I think Wiggs and JK both did a really good job of attacking the basket,” he said. “When they're out there and you feel them defensively like we did tonight I think it changes our team and allows us to get stops and get out and run and get fouled.”
The Dubs own top-six marks in both offensive and defensive rating over the last nine games, with a resulting +10.6 net rating—tied for the league lead with the Cleveland Cavaliers—coming as no surprise. Just as predictable amid overall recent success and extended playing time for lineups featuring Green, Kuminga and Wiggins is the Warriors ranking eighth in pace during that timeframe, up from 12th. They're also 10th in average time to shoot after defensive rebounds, per Inpredictable, shaving .8 seconds off possessions that begin on the defensive glass.
What does Warriors ‘best version' look like going forward?
The identity forged by prioritizing units involving Green, Kuminga and Wiggins isn't the only personnel development driving Golden State's increased pace of play. Chris Paul has been sidelined for the duration of the Warriors' in-season renaissance, recovering from a broken hand that will keep him shelved until after the All-Star break.
Paul was a difference-maker for Golden State before going down, finally keeping his new team's collective head above water with Curry on the bench. He'd come alive from deep in his last handful of games pre-injury, too, shaking off dire early-season shooting struggles. There's no doubting Paul will have a nightly role with the Warriors once he's cleared to play. But a team-wide reversion to the methodical, deliberate offensive approach that's been a hallmark of Paul's career would be a major disappointment, risking all the progress Golden State has made of late when it comes to playing fast.
Kerr will have some tough rotational decisions to make upon Paul's return. Gary Payton II's looming availability won't make them any easier, but at least his style fits in perfectly with how the Dubs have played since leaning into Green at center whole hog. Gui Santos opened more eyes in Indianapolis on Thursday, scoring a career-high 13 points, but Payton's ultra-disruptive defense, transition prowess and ability to play much bigger than his listed 6'2 makes him a plug-and-play replacement for Golden State's rookie forward.
The same can't be said with regard to Lester Quinones and Paul, nor whoever the Point God could sometimes supplant in the Warriors' closing lineup next to Curry, Green, Kuminga and Wiggins. Additional athleticism and all-court pace has been huge for Golden State of late, but so has deploying backcourt tandems that only feature one undersized guard.
Can this team continue defending at a championship-level playing Paul next to Curry as the season continues? Will Kerr ever go back to three-guard lineups? Is Moses Moody set to once again fall victim to a rotational numbers crunch?
The return of impact players like Paul and Payton is one of those “good” problems any team would love to have, particularly considering they're primed to take most of their minutes from recent G Leaguers like Quinones and Santos. Their presence also threatens to alter the winning alchemy the Warriors have finally managed to find after searching for it all season, though.
Keep an especially close eye on Golden State once Paul and Payton get back in the fold. If they're able to maintain the two-way identity that's prompted this recent rise, the Warriors really might emerge as the proverbial team “no one wants to play” heading into the postseason. But continuity and chemistry are fragile. Any development otherwise could cause the Dubs to take a step back post All-Star break, one they simply can't afford in an over-crowded Western Conference.
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