The Warriors have the 4th Worst Defense in the League - that will cost them

[bdonovan]

https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/team/...Points/dir/asc

The Warriors give up 118 points per game, tied for 4th worst in the NBA. The teams that are worse than them in D are hopeless overall_ Pistons, Hornets, Spurs.

Compare this to last year - when the Warriors were the 3rd BEST team in defense, giving up just 105.5 pts/game.

So, what happened?

The temptation is to attribute the difference to personnel. But the starting unit for the Warriors is the same as last year. GSW has lost Gary Payton II off the bench but the NBA is about team defense, not merely individual talents. Yes, Warriors have been hampered by injuries but what team isn't. The bench is a factor but unlikely to account for a 10+ point swing in points allowed.

Chemistry might be an issue from Draymond walloping Poole? Hard to measure.

I believe one reason the Warriors have fallen apart on defense is coaching. Ron Adams was responsible for the team D from the Warriors first championship in 2014-5 and the following years. During those years, the Warriors had one of the best D's in the game.

Adams is now 75 years old and doesn't seem to be as active as in the past. Now, it's mainly Warriors Asst. Coach Kenny Atkinson, who is effectively doing most of the defensive coaching- used to be head coach for the Nets. Atkinson had an unremarkable coaching career, having a losing record and not known as a defensive expert.

Added to this, Head coach Steve Kerr is becoming more vocal and taking a lead on the defensive mindset. Which is disastrous as Kerr was not a good defender and seems to know little about it.

Kerr's constant admonition to "play defense without fouling" is like telling a baseball hitter to "hit for extra bases but don't swing and miss at pitches".

Defense is a mindset. You either play fearlessly or you guard timidly. It's just impractical advice and spoils the intensity level needed. It over-castigates players for fouling, which while undesirable and speeds entry into the penalty, rarely results in games lost, in and of itself.

Kerr over-reacts to defensive fouls, causing him to bench players for committing a single foul; and thereby discouraging the team (esp. the new players) from playing hard-nosed defense if it means facing consequences from the coach.

While Draymond is the on-court defensive leader, they still need a strategic leader guiding the entire team defensively.

As the stats show, the Warriors have lost their way, defensively. We can only theorize as to the cause.

[Axe]

'Curse you draymond!'

[Full Court]

'Curse you draymond!'

Yep, and they have I think the 7th ranked offense or somewhere around there. Lebron being a sandbagging statue on defense is costing the team.

[Indian guy]

PPG?? GS is #1 in the league in pace, so of course their PPG allowed is going to be inflated. PPG is a meaningless stat in this context. DRTG (points allowed per 100 possessions) is a far more accurate measure since it normalizes for pace. And GS ranks 17th there. 11th in opponents FG%. Not championship-level defense, but they are far from bad.

[bdonovan]

PPG?? GS is #1 in the league in pace, so of course their PPG allowed is going to be inflated. PPG is a meaningless stat in this context. DRTG (points allowed per 100 possessions) is a far more accurate measure since it normalizes for pace. And GS ranks 17th there. 11th in opponents FG%. Not championship-level defense, but they are far from bad.

Can you cite your source for pace? In FGA, they are near the bottom - https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/team/...empted/dir/asc

[NBAGOAT]

You realize this list is ordered from least to most right…

[Axe]

Didn't realize that king kong is actually playing for the golden state warriors rn. Whoops.

[Full Court]

Yep, and they have I think the 7th ranked offense or somewhere around there. Lebron being a sandbagging statue on defense is costing the team.

Misread the OP as Lakers. My bad. Lakers have the FIFTH worst defense in the league.

My comment still applies.

[Indian guy]

Can you cite your source for pace? In FGA, they are near the bottom - https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/team/...empted/dir/asc

https://www.basketball-reference.com.../GSW/2023.html

[Axe]

A completely different topic and still manages to insert something about him indirectly. Color me amazed.

[Baller789]

Is there even a Steph Curry or GSW thread that Axe isn't in it?

Serious question.

[Axe]

Meltdown. Meanwhile, it's fine you're in many threads that involve lebron right?

[Baller789]

Yeah it's fine for me because I don't spend 24/7 in these forums

[Overdrive]

Yep, and they have I think the 7th ranked offense or somewhere around there. Lebron being a sandbagging statue on defense is costing the team.

Lebron's mere existence broke you.

[Axe]

Ok then. Stop derailing another thread ffs.