While Defined by Offensive Identity, the Warriors Also Evolved Defense

It’s probably been mentioned a thousand times just how good the Warriors are on defense this year. They own the league’s best defensive rating, have a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate anchoring the middle, and recruited a few good 2-way guys as well like Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II this off-season.

The Warriors being an elite-level defense isn’t something new. While the franchise has been historically defined in the dynasty by the offensive firepower of Steph, Klay, and Kevin Durant, their defense has enjoyed continuous success over the years as long as Draymond Green’s been a part of it. He’s a basketball savant, being able to command the team on both ends of the floor and willing his way to two DPOY awards (with maybe a 3rd on its way this year, if Golden State’s defensive prowess remains consistent.

Something interesting to note is that, with the absence of James Wiseman, the team has no personnel over 6’9. They generally play with a few forwards: Starting center Kevon Looney is often rotated out early for Green to take his place as the Warriors go small. This small-ball was, while an experiment over a few years prior, revolutionary in how well the Warriors could use lengthy wings and forwards like Thompson and Andre Iguodala when they committed to it. The lynchpin, of course, is Green’s trademark versatility, truly capable of guarding 1-5 both on and off-ball.

This statistic raises a point that a lot of people have been arguing: The Warriors small ball makes a traditional center apparently “useless” in their defensive schemes. A 7-footer doesn’t have the switch capability that a wing or guard would have, something that’s often been used to criticize the drafting of James Wiseman and the investment the Warriors are making.

This is pretty silly, in all honesty. While Wiseman isn’t as cerebral of a passer yet, Andrew Bogut wasn’t billed as an extraordinary playmaker when he came into the league. Yet he was one of the most important part of the 2015 championship team and the 2016 Finals team. When he went down, the Warriors defense looked lost while Draymond Green was suspended and they got killed by bigger players like Kevin Love. A defensively-inclined center who could still have some switch capability, given Wiseman’s insane athleticism and potential, would be a massive boon to the Warriors whether their focus remains on small-ball or not.

There is something to be said about how the Warriors evolved the league defensively through this kind of action. They’ve always been lightyears ahead in how they’ve operated, With the revelation of Gary Payton II, the return of Klay Thompson imminent, strong additions like Otto Porter Jr., the defensive play of (surprisingly) Steph Curry and Jordan Poole, and of course Draymond Green’s savant nature on the defensive end, the Warriors will continue to dominate like they used to. But if they can get Wiseman back as a switchable, defensive center? They’ll have thrown in another wrinkle that the league just can’t figure out.

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