Nobody Expected THIS To Happen...

In a typical Golden State fashion, Steph Curry receives a screen in transition, fires away a three aaand airballs it. WOW.
In fact, against the Hornets he shot a miserable 3 for 13 from downtown and Warriors overall had the exact same percentage going 9 for 39 collectively.
But this game proved to me that they are the scariest looking team in the western conference.
Let me explain why. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it.
Before diving into the X factor, watching these plays it’s obvious why they have a top 3 offense in the league right now. Just look at all of this movement. Sure the ball flies from one man to another, but the off ball movement for this team is absolutely amazing, making it incredibly difficult for the defense to follow.
Watching these plays it’s completely understandable how Golden State lead the entire league, number 1 in assists per game. That’s almost exactly 10 more than the bottom team in this category.
But having the best shooter in NBA history, will help your team have a good offense. However check out this incredible defensive sequence from him as I expose the real reason for the success of the Golden State Warriors.
Check out the amazing effort on the rotations here. Ish Smith is still one of the quickest in the NBA so Iguodala is ready to help Oto Porter on the drive, and you can already see that Damion Lee slides down to help the helper. So the only available pass here is a lob to the corner but Steph has that on the closeout which forces another pass to Rozier with 2 guys flying at him and not a lot of time left on the clock. He has to shoot this weird looking jumper under pressure and misses it.
Phenomenal defensive execution on this possession.
How many of you knew that this team has the absolute best defense in the NBA so far?
And that was evident last night as well, as you watch all of these hustle plays
that they showed on that side of the floor, despite having such a frustrating night offensively.
In fact that’s exactly how they stayed in the game to the very end and if they can be competitive while shooting this bad, you know that they are a problem.
Of course the anchor is Draymond Green. Dude guarded almost everyone against the Hornets, and things looked ugly for Charlotte with him on the ball.
But then check out the dedication, to fight through the screen here, all the way out to the three point line, to block what would otherwise be a wide open shot.
He did it again here in this situation and although it may have been a foul, the effort is undeniable. And he did it once more on the rotation here to contest Gordon Hayward.
This is true leadership. These are winning plays on a championship contender. Because now, the entire team follows and fights with the exact same intensity.
All the way to the young guys like Cuminga who had a bunch of these whether it was a block like this one here, or the dive on the floor for the steal on this play, you see that he fits this team nicely. And not to mention Gary Payton Jr who is one of the best perimeter defenders when he’s on the floor. Obviously he’s a bit limited offensively but boooy from what I’ve seen, there’s no way of beating him off the dribble. It’s almost as if he has this in his DNA, like for example as if his dad played in the NBA and was a lockdown defender so now he has those same genes. It’s really strange.
Btw Payton Jr is one of the big reasons why Golden State are number 1 in the league in steals per game. Dude is averaging a steal and a half in just 12 minutes on the court per game.
Ok so let me summarize everything. The Warriors have the third best offense, the number 1 defense, they are leading the league in assists and steals. All that while waiting for more help to come from one of the best 2 way players in the NBA Klay Thompson.
Maaaan, all I wanted at the beginning of the season was for them to hang on and at least be in the mix while Klay returns but there was no way I could imagine them having the best record and leading the league in all of these categories.
And the craziest thing being that the Warriors are only number 12, middle of the road in 3 point percentage. All of their success is because of their defense, the effort and the unselfishness. And those are exactly the attributes that make up a championship level team.
That’s been their secret and that’s exactly why everyone should fear them in the playoffs.
Let me know in the comments where do you see this team as it is and especially once Klay gets back. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.