Golden State Warriors: Lessons on team construction, roles and hierarchies

Interesting fact! The Champion 2007-08 Celtics and current Warriors team have something in common. They hold down the 3rd-and-4th spots, respectively for Largest Point Differential (since the merger) over the first 19 games of the season. That Boston squad had a PD of +265, while Golden State had a PD of +258.

So what? Well, it's all about team-construction. The 2015-16 Warriors team holds the number-one spot in Point-Differential-Over-First-19-Games, and Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green headed that crew. That also holds true for the current, 2021-22 version of Golden State, although Klay has yet to play this season due to injury.

NBA TV's Steve Smith and Greg Anthony discussed the Warriors 17-2 (best in the West) start this season, and Draymond was the focal point. As in the 2015-16 season he remains the "point forward", leading the team in assists once again with 7.8 APG. As Greg Anthony put it, "They run most of their offense through Draymond and his ability to make good decisions (makes it work)."

It's all about Team construction. The Golden State core-trio of Thompson, Green and Curry remains in place six years later, and it still works - holding first place in the West being my first bit of evidence. The GS players know their roles and carry them out.

Likewise for the 2007-08 Celtics crew. With a core-trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, there was bickering in the locker room, but the players knew their roles and carried them out nicely.

Not so the current 2021-22 Boston roster. The issues of "no clear hierarchy", no definitive on-floor leader, poor team construction, undefined (unperformed?) roles. unreliable bench and two stars that have been accused of not making their teammates better - have come home to roost, putting the Celtics mired in mediocrity with a triple-10 standing in the East (10th place with a 10-10 record).

Bob Myers and Jerry West built that GS squad years ago, resulting in three Championship seasons (2015, 2017, 2018). And they are off to a great start this year, despite Klay Thompson being among the missing. The brain trust of Ime Udoka and Brad Stevens may need to look at their current roster to decide if changes need to be implemented.

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