The next level for Stephen Curry and the Warriors is here
It's a terrifying proposition, but there might be another level for Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Consider the implausibility of that statement. The Warriors had the league's best defense and nearly the best offense last season, earning 67 victories in the regular season and another 16 in the playoffs to win the championship.
As for Curry - well, he only won MVP in a landslide decision.
But there might be another level, and the Memphis Grizzlies caught a peek on Monday. The team that ranked second to the Warriors through most of last season lost by a score of 119-69.
"I think we're trying to get to that next level," Draymond Green told ESPN's Ethan Strauss after Monday's win. "But there are still more levels to get to."
Red Curry
The Warriors' success starts and stops with Curry. Doubters crept out of the woodwork this summer to denounce the Warriors' success or the validity of Curry's MVP award, but he's made all the talk look utterly ridiculous.
Curry now sits at 148 points on 84 shots in just 127 minutes. Let that sink in.
He's scoring 1.76 points per field-goal attempt. He ranks 27th in minutes, yet leads the league in scoring at 37 per contest. He has the league's best true-shooting percentage at 76.8 percent. He's hit 48.8 percent from deep on 10.8 attempts per game.
His shot chart belongs in the MOMA.
(Courtesy: NBA Stats)
Curry has even refined the nuances of his game. He's turning the ball over on a minuscule 7.7 percent of his possessions, as compared to last season's mark of 14.3 percent. He's also taking 2.8 additional free-throw attempts per game, and, of course, he's shooting 96.4 percent from the line - up from last season's league-best rate of 91.4 percent.
Everything is going Curry's way, and not only is he proving that his MVP was no fluke, he's coming back to defend his title with a renewed vengeance, while continuing to flaunt his effortless flair.
Historical levels of dominance
Monday's 50-point rout of the Grizzlies came on the heels of a 14-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans, a 20-point thumping of the Houston Rockets, and a 16-point thrashing of the Pelicans again on opening night.
The Warriors have played four games against Western Conference playoff teams and posted a point differential of plus-24.7, which is nearly double that of the next closest team.
Altogether, the Warriors have outscored their opponents by 100 points through four games, which is the best mark of any team in NBA history.
To put that into perspective, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls that went 72-10 - that team opened the season with four straight double-digit wins by a combined 63 points. The 1961-62 Boston Celtics with Bill Russell and seven Hall of Famers - they were plus-99 through their first four games.
For the Warriors, though, it's simply business as usual. Once again, they find themselves first in offense (by a full six points per 100 possessions better than the next closest team), while ranking second in defensive efficiency.
And their net rating? They've outscored opponents by 26.6 points per 100 possessions, and the difference between them and the second-place Utah Jazz (14.1) represents the same difference between the Jazz and the 16th-ranked Portland Trail Blazers (2.1)
Dynasty in the making?
The talk of building a dynasty is often absent in the conversation over the Warriors, but it's not so far-fetched.
Their core is young, they've proven to be healthy, and, aside from veteran stalwarts Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala, the Warriors' core pieces are still on the upswing.
Curry, Green, and Klay Thompson are signed through 2017, and the team can choose to retain future restricted free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli next summer. All five of those players are 27 or under.
Or, the Warriors could let go one of Barnes and Ezeli to create something close to maximum cap room next summer. Think the Warriors are unbeatable now? What if Kevin Durant joined this team? Or even Al Horford?
The Warriors could sit tight with their current roster, or they can grab some upgrades next summer. They're going to win either way.
Talking about dynasties always sound crazy in the moment, but just think about where the Warriors stand. They're a young team coming off a 67-win season with a historically dominant net rating and all their core pieces locked in going forward. Why can't they be a dynasty team in the making?