Shaun, Iggy, and The Joker

"Strength in Numbers" has been the watchword of the Golden State Warriors since Steve Kerr took over.  One subtle aspect of Kerr's system (as originally designed) was that the Warriors would make the other team work when in their half court offense, methodically passing to the open man and shooting late in the clock.

"Wait," you astutely interject, "doesn't that lower their effective field goal percentage?"  Not really, because the person shooting in the last six seconds is probably a genius.  Back in 2015 John Schuhmann noted that:

Stephen Curry has an effective field goal percentage of 65.7 percent on shots in the last six seconds of the clock, highest among 173 players who have attempted at least 50 late-clock shots. He’s actually shot better in the last six seconds of the clock than he’s shot in the first 18. 

(He still does this.)

Come on pic.twitter.com/TCVQL77lVB

— Lifetime Laker Fan (@World_Wide_Wob) May 2, 2018

Kerr, I surmise, saw two benefits to playing late in the clock.  First, the longer a defense spends chasing Curry et al through screens, the more likely they are to make a mistake and give up a really good shot.  And second, defending like this for four quarters is going wear you out, and Kerr had a deeper bench than most.

So "Strength in Numbers" wasn't just a slogan, it was a smart way to attack the star-heavy NBA, a bit of democratic spirit in a game that often looks like European cycling, with its legions of domestiques.  In 2015 Kerr had deluxe domestiques, people like Marrise ("Mo Buckets") Speights and Leandro Barbosa, quality role players who could come in and either run up the score on the other team's bench or help run the other team's starters ragged.  But now...

The signing of Kevin Durant altered the deal.  To make way for the gigastar, the Warriors had to give up most their bench "Specials", retaining only Iguodala and Livingston.  The reason this wasn't a big problem in 2017 was that the Cavaliers were even more top-heavy than the Warriors.  After the Warriors took a 3-0 lead in the Finals, Baxter Holmes of ESPN reported that

Steve Kerr said he kept repeating the same message to his players.  "They're going to get tired," Kerr recalled saying, speaking of James and Irving. "Stay in front of them. Force them into outside shots, if you can. Fatigue will play a role."

But in 2018 fatigue caught up with the Warriors, too.  The platinum plated starters showed signs of wear and tear.  Durant, Curry, and Thompson lost significant time to injuries, and Green played with a bad shoulder through much of the season.  The bench suffered as well:  Iguodala, reportedly suffering from sore knees, often looked old and a step behind.  Livingston was his usual efficient self, but plays with a minutes restriction due to past injuries.  The result, as history now records, was disappointing 58-24 record, for a .707 winning percentage, only third-best in the NBA.

So I was interested to see what the Playoffs would bring.  I've been tracking Livingston and Iguodala's +/- scores.  Together they amount to a fifth All-Star on the team - accounting for 44 minutes per Playoff game between them, and bringing extreme levels of basketball intelligence to the proceedings (Bay Area broadcast Greg Papa calls them, with David West, "The Three Wise Men").  In the ten games so far, each player has given you a plus/minus of about +0.3 per minute on the floor.

Against New Orleans, the Warriors seemed to falter, and in the fourth game Kerr inserted Iguodala into the starting lineup, with spectacular results:

For these ten games, Iguodala is +81, 3rd on the team after Green and Durant.  Livingston, who plays about half as many minutes is +44.  (Not to beat a dead horse, but Nick Young is -14...)

So, as the real Warriors season gets underway, we have a team that in all probability cannot be beaten four times, so long as the top seven men remain healthy.  After that it gets very thin.  Beyond the All-Stars and the Three Wise Men we have point guard Quinn Cook, who started off this season getting waived by the Hawks out of training camp, and rookie Jordan Bell, who shows flashes of brilliance but has been slowed by injuries.

And beyond that, nothing but centers - Zaza Pachulia, Javale McGee, Kevon Looney, and Damian Jones...and, of course,  Nick Young.

NickYoung.

Nick. Young.

Nick Young, who is of no use to anyone except in a three point shooting contest where defense doesn't matter, a matchup where there's so much offensive talent on the floor that the rules of basketball logic no longer hold...

Like the series against the Rockets that starts Monday.

I am not ready for this.