BANG: Five biggest storylines for the Warriors on their playoff push

[Allen]

Five biggest storylines for the Warriors on their playoff push
The Warriors have 29 games left in the regular season to climb the NBA's
Western Conference standings

>Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green #23 disputes a call with referee
John Butler in the fourth quarter of their NBA game at the Chase Center
in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay
Area News Group)

Danny Emerman is a Bay Area News Group sports reporter
By DANNY EMERMAN | deme...@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: February 21, 2024 at 5:40 a.m. | UPDATED: February 21, 2024
at 4:33 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/02/21/five-biggest-storylines-for-the-warriors-on-their-playoff-push/


The Warriors lived a thousand lives before the All-Star break.

Their all-world defensive anchor was suspended — and suspended again. A
beloved coach tragically died. Jonathan Kuminga publicly aired his
grievances, then made The Leap. Chris Paul played alongside Stephen
Curry, an unimaginable idea for most of this century. Steve Kerr toggled
through dozens of lineup combinations as the team blew scores of leads.
Steph Curry, still transcendent at 35, at one point said not changing
things up would be the “definition of insanity.”

All in just a few months.

The helter-skelter start has the Warriors (27-26) emerging from the
All-Star break in 10th place in the West at .500. Green is back from his
indefinite suspension and playing at a high level. Paul is due back
possibly this month, and Kerr has decided to bring future Hall of Famer
Klay Thompson off the bench.

Here’s what to watch for as the Warriors fight to extend their dynasty.

- How real is Brandin Podziemski?

The rookie wall comes for everyone, but the Warriors can’t afford for
Podziemski’s play to slide. Podziemski leads all rookies — even Victor
Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren — in games with at least 10 points, five
assists and five rebounds. He leads the NBA in charges drawn and is
third among regular rookies in net rating.

The Santa Clara product, whose confidence is his superpower, has earned
a spot in the Warriors’ starting lineup. Even the biggest Podz fans
couldn’t have seen his rapid ascension coming when Golden State drafted
him with the 19th pick.

If he can keep this up, he’ll be by far the best Warriors rookie of the
dynasty era. If not, it’ll be clear just how much the Warriors are
suddenly leaning on the indispensable 21-year-old to produce in the margins.

Podziemski should always be able to make the type of winning plays Steve
Kerr constantly lauds. The consistency of his outside jumper and array
of unorthodox finishes in the paint could be the key to whether he can
reach an All-Star-level ceiling seemingly out of nowhere.

- Is Klay really content with coming off the bench?

All that said, Podziemski probably isn’t going anywhere. His skills as a
connector, team defender and pace-booster aren’t traits that ebb and
flow like hot shooting does. Barring injury, he’ll leave Klay Thompson
coming off the bench at tipoff and watching the end of them from the
sidelines, too.

Thompson can say all the right things, but how will that really look in
practice? Watch his body language; for as difficult as coming back from
consecutive severe lower body injuries was, much of Thompson’s battle is
mental at this point. What happens when Thompson misses his first four
or five shots and is further relegated to a 15-minute game instead of 25
minutes? How might he bounce back from an inevitable down night?

The Warriors, now and going forward, are going to be at their best with
Thompson embracing the Manu Ginobili archetype. If he’s not ready to buy
into the bench role, that’ll change everything — from the Warriors’
playoff hopes to his impending free agency.

- Can Draymond stay on the straight and narrow?

In the opening weeks of the season, anything felt possible for Green at
any moment. He was a loose cannon ready to explode at any moment.

Green was ejected with two technicals against Cleveland. He earned a
five-game suspension for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold. Two weeks
later, he smacked Jusuf Nurkic for the infamous indefinite suspension.

Heart-to-heart talks between Green and key members of the organization
ensued. The big man knows he needs to stay on the court for his team to
have a chance at anything meaningful. He needs to straddle the line of
intensity without leaning into the unhinged.

Not just this year, but over the course of his career, it’s clear that
is a tough balance for Green to strike.

Since returning to the team, Green has avoided any serious incidents
while playing up to his potential on both ends of the court. His play
and presence was the biggest reason Golden State finished the first half
strong and decided to double down on the core at the trade deadline.
They’ll need him to continue to tip-toe the tightrope.

- Is the Green-Kuminga-Wiggins trio sustainable?

The Warriors’ recent surge has directly coincided with moving Green into
the starting center role and flanking him with athletic wings Andrew
Wiggins and Kuminga. With Green sidelined, Kuminga and Wiggins were a
completely untenable duo. But having Green in the fold unlocks them in a
dangerous way.

Around that frontcourt, the Warriors can play ample shooting and
playmaking. Wiggins and Kuminga give Golden State its best chance to
compete athletically with the best wings in the game, and Green remains
a defensive maestro conductor.

That frontcourt, plus Curry and Podziemski, is +26.9 per 100 possessions
in over 100 minutes. The three-man combination alone is a team-high +16.9.

The samples are now longer small. It appears the Green-Kuminga-Wiggins
frontcourt is here to stay. The early returns on the combination
probably played a part in Golden State staying pat at the deadline, so
it better be.

>RELATED ARTICLES
LeBron James out for Warriors-Lakers as Golden State embarks on home
stretch
Rick Barry, Dave Stewart to be honored by Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of
Fame
Warriors to convert Lester Quinones’ two-way contract: report
Moore: Warriors’ defense has led to collapses, could be key to resurgence
Once dead to rights, the Warriors are making a push. But we've seen
this move before

- Will Kerr and Warriors make a long-term commitment?

All signs point to the Warriors allowing Steve Kerr to coach the team
for as long as he’d like. They’d be foolish not to.

And Kerr has given every indication that he intends to remain with the
team beyond this year, when his contract expires.

So, what’s the hold-up?

While Kerr has drawn criticism from the fan base for his rotations and
late-game decisions tactics this year, he has navigated the difficult
dynamics within the locker room. His free-flowing offensive system
remains a breath of fresh air in a league that has tilted toward
heliocentrism and foul-hunting.

Kerr has called Kevon Looney the “moral compass” of the Warriors. But in
truth, he embodies that for the franchise — and in some ways, the
league. Even if he might not be the strategist Erik Spoelstra is, he has
earned Spo money, if that’s what he seeks, and is the best coach to keep
Golden State’s championship window open. An extension could send the
right message for the team’s direction going forward.

[Robin Miller]

This is a very good article, and I agree with it.

--Robin