The Golden State Warriors are off to their hottest start to a season since their 2021-22 championship campaign.
A true core has led the dominant Warriors teams of the past. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant were the story of the 2010s Warriors.
With half of this core gone, the Dubs developed what is arguably the best bench in the NBA.
They aren’t winning games through star power anymore. The Warriors are winning games through the production of their deep bench which has contributed to their high-efficiency shooting and rebounding.
The disappointing Warriors teams of the past couple of years have relied too much on Steph Curry and Klay Thompson’s shooting ability.
Fans and media accused the Warriors of refusing to change with the modern NBA because of their lack of willingness to add a true center who can score. However, this idea that the Warriors needed a center to be successful was patently false. They just needed to fix their bench.
The Warriors are currently third in the league in bench points per game and are second in bench field goal percentage.
In addition to this production and efficiency, the Warriors’ bench is also second in the NBA in minutes played per game. The non-starters are making a tangible difference in scoring and taking the load off Steph Curry and other starters.
However, this revamped Warriors bench is different from the benches of the past. Mid-range shooters like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody have become vital parts of the offense, especially in early fourth-quarter situations that require urgency in scoring.
Additionally, Buddy Hield has been practically automatic from behind the arc as a spot-up shooter.
Net rating is a statistic that measures a team’s point differential per 100 possessions. Per Basketball Reference, the Dubs are third in this category with a net rating of +10.2. This is a 7.6% improvement from their net rating last year.
This statistic suggests that the Warriors have made a massive leap defensively which is reflected in their 105.7 defensive rating.
After a dominant win on Wednesday night over the Atlanta Hawks, Andrew Wiggins was asked in an interview about the importance of the Warriors bench to their success. Wiggins shared “Our bench is special … We got a lot of guys that can go out there and take over the game in a lot of different ways”
Are the Dubs back? Is this style of winning sustainable?
So far, that is unknown and it’s too early in the season to know a team’s identity. What is certain is that a deep and productive bench is a recipe for success in this league.
