Identity Crisis: The ‘16-’17 Golden State Warriors

Matthew Huang
Staff Writer

While the 2016-2017 NBA season may be young and full of excitement, there has been a definite change in one of the NBA’s best and most discussed teams: the Golden State Warriors.  The Warriors rose out of the dark depths of the lottery circa 2012-2013, with the help of stellar drafting and a few big moves in the right direction.

Through the development of several excellent players that were homegrown and some external additions, the Warriors became a solid team in the West. They made two straight pushes to the playoffs, which ended in early-exits.  Following the acquisition of Rookie Head Coach Steve Kerr, the Warriors began playing an elite level of basketball that boasted a 85.37% W/L and two straight trips to the Finals, one resulting in a Championship.  But of course, anyone with any remote interest in basketball already knows this; they’ve seen Steph Curry transcend from a basketball player into a legitimate celebrity, entering every facet of media and advertisement, they’ve seen the memes, they’ve seen the Golden State Warriors invade and take over every single Sports Media outlet but what the casual fan does not know is that the Warriors -- amongst all the headlines and breaking news -- lost their identity, and lost what made them great. 

Following an NBA offseason that was so dramatic it rivaled reality TV, the team that just recorded the best ever NBA season signed the best free agent and arguably the best player in the NBA.  The Warriors broke the internet for a day, got a snapchat filter, and just about broke everyone in Oklahoma’s heart as Kevin Durant abandoned his team to join -- literally -- the best team in NBA history.  The world freaked out and everyone believed the Warriors were guaranteed a title even before the season started.  But some activity that flew by under the radar because of the the KD Decision was the loss of Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes.  Being a huge Warriors fan that watched 80% of their games last season, Barnes and Bogut looked horrible at times and were even detrimental to the Warriors success at times.  Failing to produce, often injured,- and frankly, at times looked lazy.  But that was apart of the Warriors identity, apart of what made them great.  Steph, Klay, Dray and Harrison Barnes were all homegrown - they developed together and their chemistry was amazing.  With the addition of Bogut in 2012, the Warriors began to grow as a defensive powerhouse while also developing an unstoppable offense.  While Harrison Barnes was underwhelming at times, he played his role almost perfectly.  The #1 prospect out of High School could definitely score the ball and make highlight reel plays, but his job on the Warriors, when sharing the perimeter with the two best shooters in the league, was that of a role-player -- a 3&D swingman.  And he played that role perfectly.  If Barnes took a selfish position and tried for a front-seat, it would have taken away from Steph, Klay, Bogut, Dray and the rest of the team.  Barnes made the ultimate sacrifice by exchanging his numbers and glory for wins.  Bogut faired a similar fate, devoting his energy to his best qualities, which were rebounding and defense, and often times disappearing on the offensive side of the court.  While both Barnes and Bogut were hated on and blamed for the Warriors loss in the Finals this past season, their behind-the-scenes devotion to their roles were crucial to the Warrior’s past success and defined who the Warriors were.

Obviously with the addition of KD and Zaza, the Warriors seem to be even better than ever, right? Well, yes, they are definitely a very scary team on paper -- and in game they are unguardable; but, they’ve lost what made them great in exchange for another serving of offensive firepower.  They jeopardized their chemistry and tenacity in exchange for more scoring and offensive flexibility, which is something they already had a surplus of.  Earlier we discussed how Barnes stepped down so that Klay and Steph were allowed to do their work. KD is simply too great to assume the same role that Barnes expertly ran.  This change and shift in dynamic means that someone will have to step down.  Rudy Gobert accurately analyzes the situation:

Synthesizing what has been discussed and applying it to where we stand currently in the season, week two, aside from tonight’s win over the Thunder, the Warriors have definitely struggled to meet expectations despite starting the year 4-1.  While they may have won 4 games, they barely won and often times looked like they were struggling to beat teams that didn’t even make the playoffs last year. 

This view maybe seen as pessimistic, pretentious or even obnoxious, especially coming from a Warriors’ fan, but when you understand how strong the Warriors played last year with a less star-studded roster, the question must be asked if the Warriors are playing a good brand of team basketball, or they are getting by solely on their offensive firepower.  Against the Thunder, the Warriors offense as a team looked admittedly terrible.  There was little chemistry, often times bad spacing and passing and the Warriors often times seemed to be cutting corners, not focusing on the little things that made their offense flow like last year.

In this still taken from the Warriors loss to the Spurs, we see a team that looks lost.  When all five offensive players are only on one side of the court, the amount of defenders it takes to effectively shut down the offense gets cut in half.  In this still, the Warriors could be shut down by three players, and their spacing is just terrible. Klay Thompson has the ball, and with the offense’s current setup, can literally do nothing except shoot.  Less than 5 feet to his right and left are his teammates and their respective defenders, and less than 15 feet beyond that are his other two teammates.  The Warriors offense last season thrived on off-ball movement and spacing.  This year, there is none of that, and they rely on their superstars to play individual, ISO-ball: ugly basketball with pretty plays.  Why work on spacing and off-ball movement when you have two unguardable players? In Steph and KD, you have two of the best scorers the game has ever seen; In Klay, you have one of the greatest two-way players in the league; in Draymond, one of the most versatile power forwards; and a reliable 5 with a solid post game in Zaza Pachulia.  Steve Kerr seems to be letting his dubs play on their own, leaving the to their own abilities rather than instilling elite discipline and structure in the whole team.  But, why should we care as fans?  

Well, the dubs are winning games and beating teams, but they are beating bad teams that do not have playoff-rosters.  Any elite defensive team that has a chance at a chip will break down the Warriors’ “offense” and capitalize on their lack of chemistry on both ends of the court, evident in the game 1 loss to the Spurs.  The composition of the teams the Warriors have defeated is extremely lackluster and were wins that were almost guaranteed, however when compared to other championship contenders (Spurs, Cavs, Clips etc.) the Dubs may have lost their winning edge and are not playing to the level of their rosters capabilities.

Concluding, it is a very young season and it is easy to jump to conclusions.  The Dubs saw 40% of their starting lineup change, and it is understandable as to why they don’t necessarily ‘click’ very well.  Kerr has proven his brand of basketball and leadership and with time, the Warriors may prove to be even better than last year in addition to playing better but until then, the Warriors are a historically-great grouping of players playing at a much lower level, accumulating wins based on their offensive firepower, not a revolutionary brand of basketball like we’ve seen before.