The Golden State Warriors’ road to a fourth straight Finals hasn’t been very smooth. Injuries, fatigue and complacency have all played a role in the Warriors losing nine more games than they have in any other season under head coach Steve Kerr.
It’s now time to get down to business, but the Warriors still aren’t whole. In fact, they’re still missing their most important player. Stephen Curry (MCL sprain in his left knee) isn’t expected to play in the first round, and the Warriors have yet to figure out how to win without their two-time MVP. They played 10 games against teams that finished with winning records without Curry and with their other three All-Stars, and they went 4-6 in those games.
Maybe it’s just a matter of urgency. If that’s the case, the start of the postseason and a series against the San Antonio Spurs should get them back on track.
- Warriors-Spurs series hub | Shaun Powell’s series preview
Here are some statistical notes to get you ready for the 2-7 series in the West, with links to let you dive in and explore more. Game 1 is Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
Pace = Possessions per 48 minutes
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions
NetRtg = Point differential per 100 possessions
Golden State Warriors (58-24)
Pace: 101.9 (5)
OffRtg: 112.2 (1)
DefRtg: 104.2 (9)
NetRtg: +8.0 (2)
Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
vs. San Antonio: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
Warriors team notes:
- This was the third straight season in which they set the all-time record for effective field goal percentage.
- Ranked in the top two in FG% in the restricted area (68%, second), on other paint shots (45%, second), from mid-range (47%, first) and in 3-point percentage (39%, first). They also led the league in free throw percentage (81.5 percent).
- Assisted on 69% of their field goals, the second highest rate of last 14 seasons. The highest was their rate of 71% last season. According to Second Spectrum tracking, they led the league in secondary assists for the third straight season.
- Ranked 28th defensively (110 points allowed per 100 possessions) in the first quarter. Ranked second defensively (102) thereafter. Were the best third quarter team in the league (plus-18.5 points per 100 possessions) for the fourth straight season.
- Played only 29 games that were within five points in the last five minutes. That was tied with Utah for fewest clutch games.
- Averaged just 23.9 drives per game, fewest in the league.
Warriors individual notes:
- Stephen Curry had an effective field goal percentage of 62 percent, the fifth best mark among players (and the best among non-centers) who attempted at least 500 shots. His effective field goal percentage of 69 percent in the third quarter, the best mark among players with at least 100 third-quarter field goal attempts.
- The Warriors scored 120.4 points per 100 possessions and outscored their opponents by 14.7 points per 100 with Curry on the floor. Those were the highest marks for on-court OffRtg and on-court NetRtg (by pretty wide margins) among players who averaged at least 15 minutes in 40 or more games. The Warriors scored only 106.1 points per 100 possessions with Curry off the floor. His on-off-court OffRtg differential of 14.3 was, by far, the largest among players who played at least 1,000 minutes for a single team.
- Kevin Durant shot 49 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, the second best mark among 101 players who attempted at least 200. Draymond Green shot 31 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, the worst mark among those same 101 players.
- Durant and Klay Thompson ranked third and sixth, respectively, in mid-range field goal percentage among players with at least 200 mid-range attempts.
- Green was one of three players who passed the ball at least 50 percent of the time on 100 or more post-ups.
- Nick Young recorded assists on just 6.1 percent of his possessions, the third lowest rate among players who averaged at least 15 minutes in 40 or more games. Green (36 percent) had the third highest rate.
San Antonio Spurs (47-35)
Pace: 97.2 (29)
OffRtg: 105.5 (17)
DefRtg: 102.4 (4)
NetRtg: +3.1 (7)
Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
vs. Golden State: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
Spurs team notes:
- Failed to win 50 games (in an 82-game season) and had a losing road record for the first time since 1996-97.
- Had a worse-than-average offense for the first time in the last 10 years (since the 2007-08 season).
- The Spurs were the only team that ranked in the bottom five in both 3-point percentage and the percentage of shots that came from 3-point range. Their 3-point percentage of 35.2 percent (26th) was down from a league-best 39.1 percent last season. That was the league’s biggest drop in 3-point percentage.
- Only playoff team that didn’t have a lineup that played at least 200 minutes together.
- Saw a drop in assist percentage (AST/FGM) for the third straight season, but ranked second with 4.0 secondary assists per game.
- Had an aggregate bench NetRtg of plus-2.2, a mark which ranked eighth in the league and was down from a league-best plus-8.9 last season. That was the biggest bench NetRtg drop-off in the league.
Spurs individual notes:
- LaMarcus Aldridge led the league with 235 mid-range field goals and 728 total points scored between the restricted area and 3-point range. He took 62 percent of his shots from between the restricted area and 3-point range, the third lowest rate among players who attempted at least 500 total shots.
- Bryn Forbes had an effective field goal percentage of 59 percent at home and 45 percent on the road. That was the third biggest home-road difference in effective field goal percentage among 213 players with at least 200 field goal attempts both at home and on the road. Kyle Anderson (60 percent vs. 50 percent) had the seventh biggest difference.
- Pau Gasol shot 36 percent from 3-point range, down from 54 percent last season. That was the biggest drop in 3-point percentage among 183 players who attempted at least 100 threes each season.
- Dejounte Murray‘s average speed of 4.87 miles per hour ranked second among players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
- The Spurs allowed 98.1 points per 100 possessions with Dejounte Murray on the floor. That was the fourth lowest on-court DefRtg among players who have averaged at least 15 minutes in 40 or more games.
- Murray had an effective field goal percentage of 40 percent in the first half of games and 50 percent in the second half. That was the third biggest effective field goal percentage jump from half to half among players with at least 200 field goal attempts in each half. His first quarter effective field goal percentage of 36 percent was the worst mark among players with at least 100 first-quarter field goal attempts.
Regular season matchup
Season series: Warriors won 3-1 (2-0 at home)
Nov. 2 @ San Antonio – Warriors 112, Spurs 92
Feb. 10 @ Golden State – Warriors 122, Spurs 105
Mar. 8 @ Golden State – Warriors 110, Spurs 107
Mar. 19 @ San Antonio – Spurs 89, Warriors 75
Pace: 99.7 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes
Golden State OffRtg: 106.7 (9th vs. San Antonio)
San Antonio OffRtg: 97.1 (23rd vs. Golden State)
Individual matchups: Golden State offense vs. San Antonio defense | San Antonio offense vs. Golden State defense
Matchup notes:
- Kawhi Leonard didn’t play in any of the four games. Tony Parker missed the first two meetings, while Rudy Gay, Pau Gasol and Dejounte Murray each missed one of the four games.
- Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant all missed the fourth meeting (the Spurs’ lone win). The 75 points the Warriors scored in that game were the fewest they’ve scored in Steve Kerr’s four seasons as head coach.
- Curry, Durant and Thompson combined to shoot 23-for-42 (55 percent) from 3-point range against the Spurs. All other Warriors shot 14-for-62 (23 percent).
- Durant’s 37 points on March 8 was the highest scoring game against the Spurs this season.
- The Warriors had three of the eight games in which a team recorded 30 or more assists against the Spurs.
- The Spurs were outscored by 41 points in Bryn Forbes’ 49 minutes on the floor.
- The Spurs won the first quarter by nine or 10 points in three of the four games. Overall, the Spurs were a plus-21 in the first quarter and the Warriors were a plus-48 thereafter.
John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
