Getty Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and assistant coach Mike Brown look on during the 2017 NBA Finals.
Without question, the Golden State Warriors have looked like a real threat to capture another NBA championship for darned near the entirety of the 2021-22 season. In recent weeks, however, the team has taken a bit of a step back.
The Warriors have lost five of their last seven games, dating back to before the All-Star break. Over that span, they have the league’s No. 19 defensive rating at 113.7 and a bottom-five rebounding percentage (48.0).
Although there have been a number of factors in the club’s recent downturn, injuries — particularly the ones suffered by Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala — have definitely played a big-time role in what has transpired.
While there’s hope that both Draymond and Iggy will be back and contributing in time for the postseason, the mysterious/lingering nature of their ailments has some wondering whether Golden State might have to chase a title without them. But does the team really have a shot to go all the way in that scenario?
Associate head coach Mike Brown has some thoughts on the subject.
Brown Weighs in on Warriors’ Postseason Prospects
Brown, who coached the Cavs to a Finals appearance before joining Steve Kerr’s staff in 2016, just sat down with NBC Sports Bay Area‘s Monte Poole for a Q&A. While a number of subjects were covered, the biggest question may have been about the Warriors’ title viability without the old vets.
Clearly, it’s one that causes Brown some angst.
“That is … that’s a good question. I don’t know,” Brown said after a long pause. “We’d have to be really, really darn good on both sides of the ball. I don’t know, off the top of my head, who on our team besides Steph and Klay and [Kevon Looney] has been to the conference finals, let alone The Finals. [No one].”
Of course, Golden State hasn’t been good on both sides of the ball recently. And, as Brown said, deep playoff basketball would be new ground for much of the roster.
“Having that experience on both sides of the ball is crucial. Crucial.”
Regarding what Green and Iguodala bring to the table, Brown had this to say:
Draymond is very crucial and, honestly, so is Andre. Draymond and Andre. That’s two guys that have length, pretty good athleticism – good enough – and the kind of feel and intelligence we need. And they communicate. Veteran guys that have been there and done that.
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Brown on James Wiseman’s Comeback
When asked about the impending return of former No. 2 pick James Wiseman — a player who could definitely help compensate for the loss of Green and/or Iguodala — Brown indicated that there will likely be a learning curve for the youngster.
However, he was also amped about Wiseman’s physical gifts and the strides he has made behind the scenes:
[Warriors assistant Dejan Milojevic] is doing a hell of a job with him, and a lot of it is going to translate. But it’s going to take a minute. It’s going to take a little bit of time. James is extremely young, and he hasn’t had a lot of playing experience at this level. So, he doesn’t really know the league. And he’s trying to figure it while playing in a league that is faster than anything he has experienced in his life. There’s a natural learning curve.
The good thing about it is he’s probably going to make some mistakes, but his elite length and athleticism will help him recover quicker than most. If he messes up, and realizes he messed up, he can still recover and impact the play better than most guys – if not everybody – on our team.
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What it’s going to boil down to is this: if, and I mean IF the warriors make it to the finals, they will be commended for doing a great job surrounding the vets with youth and not trading them away with there eyes on the future. But if they go down in the 1st round, they will catch hell because they didn’t do anything at the trade deadline to help Steph, Klay and Dray go deeper into the playoffs.