The Golden State Warriors have made slow but big strides in the league this past month. Currently, at the 10th spot in the Western Conference, the Warriors boast a 31-27 record. While that record may not be much to brag about, Golden State’s track record for the entire month of February has veteran analyst Stephen A. Smith convinced that Dub nation may be the ‘Dark Horses’ of the West.
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On the latest episode of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith made a strong argument for the Golden State Warriors being the ‘Dark Horses’ of the Western Conference, given their previous month’s record.
Smith pointed out how not only are the Warriors smaller than other teams in the West, but their system works exceptionally well with the small ball rotations that Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr excels at. The 56-year-old analyst credited Stephen Curry and his greatness as another factor for the Warriors being the ‘Dark Horse’ as opposed to Kendrick Perkins making a case for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“When you look at Steph Curry, alright? And the greatness of Steph Curry. And I look at what the pieces around him are doing…Yeah, they seem a bit too small, I get it. When they’re making shots, Lord have mercy. There’s something to watch. And I’m just saying, don’t sleep on the Warriors. Don’t sleep on them, that’s all I’m saying.”
Stephen A. emphasized Curry’s greatness and how the pieces around him have been functioning. He brought up the fact that The Chef fits perfectly among the squad the Warriors currently have around their All-Star point guard.
This automatically led the ESPN personality to issue a warning for the rest of the league to not count out the Warriors just yet.
The Golden State Warriors have played a total of 14 games this past month. And to everybody’s surprise, the Warriors have won 11 matchups out of those 14. Golden State is the only team in the league to have won double-digit games in February.
Stephen Curry has been leading the Warriors in scoring but players like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski are some of the few young guns on the roster who have earned head coach Steve Kerr’s trust and have been performing well when the team needs it the most.
So, while the Warriors are still at the 10th spot in the West if they continue to perform the way they have, this squad will be in the top eight of the Western Conference soon enough.
How much have the Stephen Curry-led Warriors improved?
As mentioned above, the Golden State Warriors have had a phenomenal last month with an 11-3 record. The team has managed to win the most games in the entire league and has been doing so while staying under the radar.
One of the deciding factors for the Warriors’ success has been the team’s All-Star shooting guard, Klay Thompson coming off the bench. Thompson was shifted to the bench by head coach Steve Kerr last month. While many believed that it would make much of a difference, bringing Thompson off the bench resulted in not just better performances out of him but also giving the starters something new to experiment with.
It seems as if the experiment worked then soon the Warriors will be a force to reckon with. With their recent win against Raptors, the 2022 champions are on 10th, but are only 2 and 4 games behind the Kings and Phoenix Suns, respectively. So, making it into the playoffs doesn’t seem to be a big issue for the Warriors.
