Warriors find other ways to measure success amid home stretch vs.
outmatched teams
Golden State has rattled off 3 straight wins by 20+ points, but they've
come against teams with a combined 8-20 record
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. – NOV. 4: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) high fives Gary Payton II (0) in the third quarter against the New
Orleans Pelicans, Friday, Nov. 4, 2021, at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. – NOV. 4: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) high fives Gary Payton II (0) in the third quarter against the New
Orleans Pelicans, Friday, Nov. 4, 2021, at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 7, 2021 at 4:59 p.m. | UPDATED: November 7, 2021 at
4:59 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/11/07/warriors-find-other-ways-to-measure-success-amid-home-stretch-vs-outmatched-teams/

SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr’s thoughts before the Warriors’ extended
homestand could be summed up into two words: “Too long.” But halfway
through, there hasn’t been any struggle to keep players engaged, Kerr
said Sunday before Golden State tipped off against Houston in the fifth
of eight straight at home.

“So far, so good,” Kerr said. “I think everybody’s in a good spot. It’s
been a pretty good schedule for us. We haven’t overworked our guys.
We’ve had some days off. Everybody’s in a good mood because we’re
playing well and we’re having some fun.”

Winning cures all, and the Warriors have been winning — by a lot. After
starting the home stretch on a sour note with an overtime loss to
Memphis, the Warriors have won their past three games entering Sunday by
at least 20 points.

Including Houston, however, Golden State’s opponents since their lone
loss have a combined winning percentage of .282.

How much weight can be put in a 7-1 record that features only one win
against a team above .500?

Andre Iguodala, an 18-year veteran, said the Warriors’ early success can
be a trap, if they get complacent. Beating outmatched teams, though,
isn’t anything to scoff at, he said.

“There is something to taking care of games you’re supposed to take care
of,” Iguodala said. “So we’ve gotta finish out the home stretch and
continue to have the right mindset in terms of not looking at our
record, but looking at how we’re playing and how we’re improving through
each game.”

As long as Golden State is checking the right box in the win-loss
column, the Warriors aren’t concerned with the margin of victory so much
as how the win came together.

-Did they meet their goal of 12 or fewer turnovers?
-Were they getting open shots on offense?
-Was there effort on the defensive end?

“Eventually you play everybody, so it’s just a matter of controlling
what you can control,” said Stephen Curry. “For us, you’ve got to focus
on getting no matter who you’re playing will allow us to be the team we
want to be. … And then as we go through the year, continue to measure
ourselves against whoever we play. I like where we’re at right now.
We’re obviously a much better team than we’ve been the past two years,
and we have to continue to prove that every night.”

The Warriors play their first set of games on consecutive nights this
season starting with Houston on Sunday.

One thing that is better at home: back-to-backs.

Iguodala, 37, was the only player Kerr felt needed a rest day Sunday
ahead of Monday’s game against Atlanta. He is still nursing a sore left
hip from a hard fall earlier this season.

“I think everybody’s in a pretty good place right now,” Kerr said. “It’s
not as difficult of a back to back as some of the others we’ll face
later on where we’re traveling and getting into cities really late or
whatever.”

Kerr made use of a day off at home Saturday to head down the peninsula
to Santa Cruz and catch rookie lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga in action
with the Warriors’ G League affiliate.

He hasn’t felt the need to switch up anything in practice to keep
players interested — yet, at least.

“Maybe later in the week it will get a little tougher as guys get
restless,” Kerr said.

NOTE

-Klay Thompson (Achilles) and James Wiseman (meniscus) won’t travel with
the Warriors on their upcoming East Coast road trip. Instead, the
rehabbing duo will stay home and ramp up their work to return to the
court, Kerr said. “That would be the idea: ramping things up while we’re
on the road. We have the resources to be able to put them through the
work. … Both guys will stay behind with some of our coaches and training
staff and we’ll be putting together a plan for them as the days approach.”

--
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.

Allen wrote:
> Warriors find other ways to measure success amid home stretch vs.
> outmatched teams
> Golden State has rattled off 3 straight wins by 20+ points, but they've
> come against teams with a combined 8-20 record
> >SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. – NOV.  4: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
> (23) high fives Gary Payton II (0) in the third quarter against the New
> Orleans Pelicans, Friday, Nov. 4, 2021, at Chase Center in San
> Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
> >SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. – NOV. 4: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
> (23) high fives Gary Payton II (0) in the third quarter against the New
> Orleans Pelicans, Friday, Nov. 4, 2021, at Chase Center in San
> Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
> By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
> PUBLISHED: November 7, 2021 at 4:59 p.m. | UPDATED: November 7, 2021 at
> 4:59 p.m.
> https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/11/07/warriors-find-other-ways-to-measure-success-amid-home-stretch-vs-outmatched-teams/
>
>
>
> SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr’s thoughts before the Warriors’ extended
> homestand could be summed up into two words: “Too long.” But halfway
> through, there hasn’t been any struggle to keep players engaged, Kerr
> said Sunday before Golden State tipped off against Houston in the fifth
> of eight straight at home.
>
> “So far, so good,” Kerr said. “I think everybody’s in a good spot. It’s
> been a pretty good schedule for us. We haven’t overworked our guys.
> We’ve had some days off. Everybody’s in a good mood because we’re
> playing well and we’re having some fun.”
>
>
> Winning cures all, and the Warriors have been winning — by a lot. After
> starting the home stretch on a sour note with an overtime loss to
> Memphis, the Warriors have won their past three games entering Sunday by
> at least 20 points.
>
> Including Houston, however, Golden State’s opponents since their lone
> loss have a combined winning percentage of .282.
>
>
> How much weight can be put in a 7-1 record that features only one win
> against a team above .500?
>
> Andre Iguodala, an 18-year veteran, said the Warriors’ early success can
> be a trap, if they get complacent. Beating outmatched teams, though,
> isn’t anything to scoff at, he said.
>
> “There is something to taking care of games you’re supposed to take care
> of,” Iguodala said. “So we’ve gotta finish out the home stretch and
> continue to have the right mindset in terms of not looking at our
> record, but looking at how we’re playing and how we’re improving through
> each game.”
>
> As long as Golden State is checking the right box in the win-loss
> column, the Warriors aren’t concerned with the margin of victory so much
> as how the win came together.
>
> -Did they meet their goal of 12 or fewer turnovers?
> -Were they getting open shots on offense?
> -Was there effort on the defensive end?

Do they ever have 12 or less turnovers in a game?

--Robin