April 24, 2022 By: Kevin Kissner

The Golden State Warriors are once again the best team in the NBA

The team from the Bay Area is healthy and they are back to being the best team in not only the Western Conference, but in the entire NBA.

The Warriors have dominated the Denver Nuggets over the first three games of the NBA Playoffs with Steph Curry averaging just 22.5 minutes per game coming off the bench. In Game 2, Curry scored 34 points in 23 minutes and was +32 for the game.

Then Game 3 happened.

The Warriors traveled to Denver and the Nuggets gave Golden St. their best performance of the postseason, but that still wasn’t enough. Denver would fall 118-113 even after outscoring the Warriors 30-18 in the third quarter. The reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic also had his best game of the series going for 37/18/5, but that still wasn’t enough to get a win at home.

Curry isn’t the real story though as to why Golden St. is the hottest team in the NBA. Jordan Poole is the story.

In his first three playoff games, Poole has scored 30 points in his debut followed by a 29-point performance in Game 2 and added 27 in Game 3. Poole’s 86 points are the second most combined points in a player’s first three career playoff games in Warriors history.

Golden St. has won eight games in a row dating back to the regular season and they’re getting hot at the right time. The Warriors are playing their brand of basketball and there’s no way of stopping it. Golden St. is shooting 44.4% from three in their three games which include a 44-point 3^rd quarter in Monday night’s win.

With the “Splash Bros” returning to their old ways, the defense from the Warriors has been successful too.

Golden St. has slowed down the reigning league MVP in Nikola Jokic. In the first two playoff games Jokic was a -45 which ranks the worst among all Nuggets and just a +3 in Thursday night’s loss. That means Jokic is a -42 after having the greatest regular season in NBA history. Due to his frustration, Jokic was ejected in Game 2 after he thought he was fouled by Draymond Green. The frustrations were building after Jokic only attempted just two free throws in Game 1 and eight in the next game.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr praised his team’s defense on Jokic after Game 1 mentioning that his team has taken away his backdoor cuts with his brilliant passing. Jokic has just 15 assists over the past three games, but Golden St. has slowed Denver down in running their offense through Jokic like they’ve done most off the season.

As of late, Golden St. is making opposing teams play their game. The Warriors are adjusting their own lineups and making their opponents adjust to them and not the other way around. Kerr’s teams have always been successful because of their offense being so stretched out across the floor. The Warriors don’t have that true old-fashioned center to post up and slow down the tempo of the game. Instead, they have forwards and centers that can shoot from all over the court. In fact, Kerr is starting to figure out a smaller lineup going with three guards and making Green play the five position.

Teams are going to outscore the Warriors in the paint during this playoff run, but teams are not going to outshoot Golden St. from the outside. An opposing team like the Phoenix Suns might be able to slow down a player or two for the Warriors defensively, but at any time a third or fourth player can get hot from long distance. Other than Curry and Thompson getting their own, teams now have to worry about Andrew Wiggins catching fire as well as Poole. This team is just too good and their attention to detail is better than any other team in the NBA.

Teams can and will make runs against this Warriors team, but that run will end quickly because of how fast and effective the offense is for Golden St. A 14-point lead will turn into a six-point lead with a blink of an eye and there’s no looking back after the Warriors get momentum.

The only way to stop the Warriors is to have your guards dominate the perimeter defense and be effective in the pick n rolls and hope Curry and crew shoot less than 35% from downtown. A team might be able to do that in a game or two, but no team will be able to exceed those expectations in a best of seven series.

If I were a betting man, I would go ahead and throw my money on the Warriors winning their fourth championship since 2015.