The Warriors are developing a defensive identity
Golden State is 6-1 with the top-rated defense in the NBA, thanks in no
small part to Gary Payton II
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 3: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew
Wiggins (22) guards against Charlotte Hornets’ Gordon Hayward (20) in
the fourth quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 3: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew
Wiggins (22) guards against Charlotte Hornets’ Gordon Hayward (20) in
the fourth quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 4, 2021 at 10:08 a.m. | UPDATED: November 4, 2021 at
2:37 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/11/04/the-warriors-are-developing-a-defensive-identity/

SAN FRANCISCO — No team in the NBA is playing defense like the Warriors.

As the top-rated team in the league through seven games, coach Steve
Kerr said his players are buying in, too.

“I think we’re starting to build an identity, and it’s very much
defensive-minded,” Kerr said Wednesday after Golden State’s 114-92 win
over Charlotte. “It’s kind of fun.”

The Warriors are allowing 97.8 points per 100 possessions, the best
defensive efficiency in the NBA. The key stretch of their win Wednesday
night featured an eight-minute run where they held the Hornets without a
field goal and forced seven turnovers.

The sold-out crowd at Chase Center was all in, too.

“You could feel their excitement watching our defense,” Kerr said.

Defense was a calling card of last year’s Warriors team, but they’ve
taken another step forward this season.

Golden State finished last season fifth in the NBA in defensive rating,
then reacquired Andre Iguodala in free agency.

Another pivotal move came the weekend before the regular season, when
Golden State cut down its roster and initially left open the 15th spot.
Gary Payton II and Avery Bradley had been battling for the job, but both
were cut.

Any team could have signed Payton. Instead, he re-upped on a new
contract with Golden State (that doesn’t become guaranteed until Jan.
10) and has flourished into of the biggest contributors off the bench.

Payton has gone from the edge of the roster to one of Kerr’s first
substitutions on most nights.

“We are reinvigorated in a lot of ways, and he’s part of that,” Kerr
said. “We felt like we could maintain our defensive effort than a year
ago, and I actually think we’re better now because of Gary and because
of Andre Iguodala.”

The Warriors’ biggest statistical improvements from a year ago have come
in defensive rebounding and steals, two categories in which Payton and
his veteran teammates have played a role.

Golden State is averaging 40 defensive boards per game, second in the
league and a 16% jump from last season. With 9.4 steals per game, the
Warriors rank fifth in the league and have seen a similar improvement
from a year ago.

Payton needed only 17 minutes to nab three steals against Charlotte,
including a robbery of LaMelo Ball that led to a late fastbreak layup.
Known for his bulldog defensive attitude, Payton has also made
surprising contributions on the boards. (His hops have made the 6-foot-3
guard Stephen Curry’s primary lob target, highlighted by a posterizing
finish over Kelly Oubre on an alley-oop feed from Curry in the first half.)

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“This is what I’m here for, just come in and spark whatever we need to
spark on the defensive end and get us going,” Payton said.

As for that highlight reel slam?

“It’s just two points,” he said. “I’m happy we got a few stops in there
and got our team going and got our crowd into it. I think that really
pushed us over the hump in the third.”

DEEP ROOTS

Payton is establishing himself this season as the id of Golden State’s
tenacious, top-rated defense after five years of floating around the G
League. Before that, though, he came to know Damion Lee through their
workouts leading up to the 2016 NBA draft.

“We worked out together all pre-draft at Merritt College for two (or)
three months,” Lee recalled Wednesday. “So I’ve know G for the past five
years. Obviously he’s like one of my brothers. I’m so happy for him.”

In his fourth season with the Warriors, Lee is proving to be a reliable
scoring threat off the bench — and contributed another 15 on Wednesday —
while Payton is earning minutes in the Warriors’ game-finishing rotation
because of his ball-hounding defense.

Both players are forcing their way into the Warriors rotation after
rising through the G League.

Add in Juan Toscano-Anderson, who went undrafted before blossoming into
his role with his hometown Warriors and played against Payton in the G
League.

“It’s just been a journey,” Payton said. “Think back a few years ago, we
were all in the G, trying to find our way to carve our way to a spot. It
just so happens we’re all on the same team. It’s a great feeling. You
put in the work, and this is what you get out of it.”

--
Evan Webeck | Reporter
Evan Webeck covers high-school sports on the field and beyond — and a
little bit of everything else — for the Bay Area News Group. A Pacific
Northwest native and graduate of Arizona State, Evan has previously
worked for The Seattle Times, MLB.com and Sports Illustrated.