The Warriors Have Won 11 Games In A Row With No Signs Of Slowing Down

My senior year in college (last year), my buddies and I created a player in MLB The Show 19. We named him Joe Pesci. He was a 5-foot-6, 400-pound speedster who was maxed out at every skill. We had a lot of fun with it.

Once we reached a certain point, it seemed like we plateaued. We had a 100-game hitting streak, one season with over 100 home runs and 250 RBIs and another season with the record for stolen bases. He was at season 11 or 12 and had already broken all the major MLB records besides career hits.

And then we had him sign with the Rockies. His first season, playing half his games at Coors Field, he had probably 150 home runs, upwards of 300 RBIs and his slugging was near 2.000.

Balls that would normally be flyouts at the track became 450-foot shots. Hits that used to be home runs became 500-foot bombs that cleared the third deck in right center. I can’t tell you how many times we hit the scoreboard that season.

That is how the last 11 games, especially their first quarter against the Nuggets, which epitomized everything that has been going right for the Warriors, have felt.

There are pros and cons to being able to “flip the switch” as the Warriors can.

Knowing that you can turn it up at any time gives more incentive to play mediocre basketball.

But when they decide its time to dial in, it’s a different level of play.

That's where the Warriors are right now, having won 11 games in a row, 10 straight on the road, and have not been held under 110 points since Dec. 27.

For the sixth straight year, they have embarked on a 10-game winning streak, although this one feels like the peak of their run.

After their 132-100 win at Indiana, this rivals only their 31-2 end to the 2017 season and the 24-0 start (a 28-game streak in total) to the 2016 season, but with the addition of Demarcus Cousins and another year and another title under their belt, they are even more locked in.

“We’ve been more dialed in the past month than we have all season, and for much of last season,” Steve Kerr said. “The turnovers are down, we’re just more conscientious as a group and guys are moving the ball … We’re in a good groove, we’re in a good place and just got to keep going.”

Curry has expressed a desire to extend the win streak to at least the all-star break, which would mark at 18 games. But that is by no means their ceiling.

The Warriors now are at the same time meshing better than they ever have and seen their stars be as singularly dominant as ever.

Their last five games have been especially great: tied-first in the NBA in offensive rating, fourth in defensive rating, first in assist percentage and third in pace, made all the more impressive when you consider that they are starting Demarcus Cousins, who is coming off of a torn Achilles and is averaging 15 points and seven rebounds on almost 22 minutes a game.

“We’re not playing perfect basketball by any stretch,” Curry said. “But we’re playing consistent, focused basketball. We’re still working out some kinks with rotations and stuff like that.”

And with the way they are playing, if they keep that focus, it can go as long as they want.

There's something about losing on a James Harden three on your own floor that really wakes you up.

As has long been the case, their 11-game run of dominance has centered around Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

Draymond being Draymond

As Zach Lowe very eloquently pointed out a few weeks ago, when Draymond is moving like a runaway freight train is when the Warriors are at their most unstoppable.

I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that Green is playing the best that he ever has.

After half a season of lingering injuries and internal distractions, Green has found his groove, averaging 8.9 assists during the streak, and a second-best 5.24 assist/turnover ratio and 55.4 assist ratio.

And when he is passing, directing the offense, running the break and taking care of the ball, so is the rest of the team, which has upgraded from 10th in the association in offensive rating to first with a rating of 125.6 in the past 11. His scoring is irrelevant, and he knows that.

“What Draymond is doing is changing the game,” Steve Kerr said. “He’s pushing the ball relentlessly without making any turnovers. He’s just pushing it, and making great decisions over, and over and over.”

His direction is the team is making the team more focused as well: the Warriors are averaging 33.6 assists per game and only 12.5 turnovers in the last 11, both best in the NBA.

It has long been true that the Warriors struggle most when they turn the ball over and are their most unstoppable when they hold on to it.

Steph running free

Draymond is the catalyst of ball movement and the energetic soul of the defense, but Steph is the one that creates opportunity and makes the offense what it is.

And in the last 11 games, Steve Kerr has reinstated his previous lineup shifts, putting Steph and KD together, and let go of the leash to let the dogs run freely.

Steph and the Warriors are both second in the league in the last 11 games in three-pointers attempted per game, shooting five more per game than their season average.

Above everything, that's the key to unlocking the offense: letting Steph let it fly. Curry is averaging 5.9 made threes a game, which over the course of an 82-game season would total 483, 80 more than his current record from 2015-16.

When Steph is taking more threes, especially from 25-feet and longer, it creates more space, leaves other shooters open, gives them offensive rebounding opportunities and makes other players better. Curry is averaging a league-high 4.2 made threes a game from 25-29 feet, where he takes a majority of his threes.

It also gives Klay and Kevin Durant the chance to be their best selves.

Thompson is at his best when he can focus on locking down on defense, as evidenced in the game against the Boston Celtics. Whether Klay can hit his shots or not is almost inconsequential, but his value on defense is second to only Draymond. But he is always one or two shots away from something special.

But for what’s it worth, he is shooting over 47 percent from three on 8.5 a game and 71.7 percent from within five feet, seemingly out of thin air adding the dunk to his arsenal.

And what KD brings is a swiss-army game. He has averaged 25 points – and is the Warriors’ primary option late in close games – on over 50 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.7 blocks, which over a whole season would make him the only player with those marks.

Taking a step back for Demarcus

Much of the scoring drop has come from his attempts to integrate Demarcus Cousins into the lineup.

Cousins has averaged 15.2 points and seven rebounds, notching a season-high 22 points and 25 minutes.

To help Cousins find his flow, every starter has sacrificed, much like they did when Durant first came to the Warriors.

Curry’s average in the last five games is 25.4, Durant’s is 22.8 and Thompson’s 20.4, and the three are combining to take 7.7 less shots per game, all in the effort to get Cousins into the offense.

Kerr has said that Cousins’ addition has, more than anything, given the team an emotional lift, but his insertion into the lineup should not be understated.

He gives them five Hall-of-Fame caliber players in the starting lineup. What teams have been able to say that? The 1986 Celtics? The ‘87 Lakers? The 60s Celtics? Even in those cases, all five players were not in their primes.

If they can find a way to keep focused like they have been, this streak can continue as long as they want.

Unless Harden drops an 80-piece on them one game, which is always a possibility.