Golden State Warriors

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30, right) receives a hug from head coach Mark Jackson (left) after leaving the game during the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. The Spurs defeated the Warriors 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports The Golden State Warriors are going to have a shortened offseason for the first time in six years. They gave the San Antonio Spurs a run for their money,  but in order to keep competing with the Western Conference powerhouses, they have to keep improving. Here are three areas the Warriors need to improve upon in the offseason:

I grade on expectations and I didn’t expect this: 47 wins despite all their injuries and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. With that in mind, here are my grades for the Warriors. GM Bob Myers Grade: A Comment: The Warriors’ front office nailed the three draft picks. PG Jarrett Jack was [...]

Kyle Terada – USA Today Sports Images The Golden State Warriors surprised everyone with their performance in the 2013 NBA Playoffs when they upset the third-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round and gave the San Antonio Spurs one heck of a fight in the second round. Considering that they spent the 2011-2012 season tanking for a higher draft pick, this season was unexpected and wildly successful for them. Now they are looking towards the future with their young team and have to believe that they are on the cusp of becoming a team that can contend atop the Western Conference. With the young and immensely talented backcourt duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in place, the future looks bright for the Warriors. Despite their young roster and the success that they enjoyed this season, though, the Warriors have work to do this off-season, most of which includes trying to keep their rotations in-tact by deciding what to do about Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry. They also could use a little more depth at several positions. With their salary cap situation, though, Golden State has little room to work in free agency. In most cases with a team in their cap situation, the franchise would be looking to improve through the 2013 NBA Draft. The problem with that is the fact that the Warriors don’t own any picks in this year’s draft. Their first round pick was traded in 2008 to the Utah Jazz and was top-six protected, but will obviously fall out of that range. Their second round pick was traded to the New York Knicks in the deal that landed the Warriors David Lee. Considering that their recent drafts have landed them Thompson and Harrison Barnes, who really shined in the postseason, it’s unfortunate that the Warriors can’t continue to build through the draft. The Warriors are going to have to get creative this summer. They are going to need to see if they can buy out some bad contracts and if they can get their owners to shell out more money than maybe they had originally planned. They could also see if they are able to trade into the draft. Either way, Golden State is a team on the rise, but this off-season will determine how good they can be next season. Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.

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A day after the Warriors' season ended with their Game 6 loss to the Spurs, the players were back at the team's practice facility conducting their season-ending exit interviews with team management before speaking with the media.

A day after the Warriors' season ended with their Game 6 loss to the Spurs, the players were back at the team's practice facility conducting their season-ending exit interviews with team management before speaking with the media.

The Golden State Warriors’ magical postseason run was put to death on Thursday, but the celebration will continue on Tuesday when Stephen Curry receives the key to City Hall, courtesy of Mayor Ed Lee. Additionally, May 21 will officially be deemed “Warriors Day” throughout the Bay Area region. Curry’s season is certainly worthy of a brief recap. He broke the NBA’s all-time record for most three-pointers in a single season. His 272 three-pointers surpassed Ray Allen’s 269, which was accomplished during the 2005-06 season. The Warriors’ budding point guard broke the record while needing only 600 attempts. Allen needed 653. May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30, right) receives a hug from head coach Mark Jackson (left) after leaving the game during the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. The Spurs defeated the Warriors 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports But the 2012-13 season will likely be remembered as the season that Curry put himself on the map. If you’ll recall, he wasn’t selected as an All-Star, which was a surprise to many pundits and fans in the Bay Area. Then, on February 27, he put on a show against the New York Knicks on basketball’s biggest stage–Madison Square Garden. He tallied 54 points, knocking down 11 three-pointers on 13 attempts. The Warriors lost, but the basketball world was put on notice of Curry’s shooting abilities. The playoffs brought more of the same for Curry, who averaged 24.3 points and 9.3 assists against the Denver Nuggets in the first round. The San Antonio Spurs, specifically Danny Green, kept Curry at bay after he exploded for 44 points in Game 1 of the Semifinals. Battling a left ankle sprain that he suffered during the fourth quarter of  Game 3, he averaged a mere 18.2 points from Game 2 to the final game of the series. But if Curry’s wobbly ankles don’t hinder him going forward, it looks as if this past season is only a taste of what’s to come.

May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (right) instructs power forward Tim Duncan (21) and point guard Tony Parker (9) against the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Spurs defeated the Warriors 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Game after game, year after year, the San Antonio Spurs exercise their calculated, methodical genius. Possession after possession, play after play, the Spurs pass, cut, screen and penetrate their way through the opponents’ defense, and though the defense resists, the Spurs almost inevitably find their shot. “The hammer”, the set shown above, represents many of the principles of San Antonio’s offense. While San Antonio’s system whittles away at a defense, it is the aptly named “hammer” that often drives the final nail. San Antonio’s hammer sets, as the video shows, generally involve off and on ball movement prior to this point, but the first key step is what appears to be a high screen. San Antonio knows that many defenses attempt to prevent the ball handler from using the screen. In accordance with the set, San Antonio has cleared the middle of the floor, leaving an open lane for the ball-handler, in this case Cory Joseph, to drive. As the guard drives, the weak-side defensive big man is forced to step in to contest. Meanwhile, San Antonio’s big man sets a back screen on the defensive wing, usually a couple steps off his man in help position, while San Antonio’s shooter cuts to the corner, setting up an easy pass to a wide-open man for the best shot in basketball. While the specific play may have been used no more than a couple times against the Warriors, it displays the intelligence that couples with the Spurs’ talent to make the team as successful as it is. They account for the nuances of the opposing teams expected defense on the initial deceptive screen, and take advantage of help schemes with the back screen. The Warriors may have resisted San Antonio, riding their own hot shooting and San Antonio’s unexpected turnovers and inconsistent shooting to two victories, but a large part of the Warriors’ performance was simply unsustainable if they hoped to win. The Warriors presented an intriguing case, but not one that held up against San Antonio’s aggressive examination.  From their own shooting to the Spurs’ struggles to convert on repeated open corner threes, among other opportunities, the Warriors could not maintain their performance, and were, like many teams before them, sentenced to death by San Antonio’s compassionless execution. May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (left) instructs point guard Tony Parker (9) against the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Spurs defeated the Warriors 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Fortunately for the Warriors, the NBA death is not finite.  The Warriors have next year, and an eternity after that, to build on this season.  While a loss is never welcome, the San Antonio Spurs gave the Warriors a model on which they can base their aspirations.  While the brilliance of Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili may be responsible for much of San Antonio’s success, the Spurs have set the standard for player development and on court execution for several years. Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green, recent products of San Antonio’s system, were key in carrying out the Warriors’ sentence. The Spurs, at least more so than other teams, take advantage of their players’ talents, bringing success not just to the players but to the entire team, and apart from a few creative diversions from Ginobili, the Spurs’ players generally stay within this system. The Warriors have a bright future, but as the Spurs have shown the last few years, success is not guaranteed.  While lo

April 28, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after making a basket as point guard Jarrett Jack (2) looks on against the Denver Nuggets during the third quarter in game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Nuggets 115-101. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to the second round in his first playoff appearance. Curry did so in dazzling fashion, drawing the attention of the entire nation with his hot shooting. In his first two playoff rounds ever, Curry not only pushed the Warriors to relevancy, but solidified his place among the NBA’s elite. Here are the five best Stephen Curry moments in the playoffs:

The Golden State Warriors’ series with the San Antonio Spurs was a lot closer than the 4-2 end score suggests, especially considering two of the games went to overtime and one of those games went to double-overtime, and the several of the games were one to two possession games as the clock winded down. So how did the Spurs ultimately prevail? May 6, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) drives to the basket as Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends during the first half in game one of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT They Didn’t Close Out Games This really only applies to the Game 1 loss in this series, but it revealed also that while youth gave the Warriors, it also came with inexperience, not just with the players, but with sophomore coach Mark Jackson as well. Tony Parker caught fire in the fourth quarter, and was constantly attacking the paint. Meanwhile, the Warriors’ best interior defender, Andrew Bogut, was sitting on the bench. Golden State also managed to turn over the ball four times in the fourth quarter, which gave the Spurs four easy points. They managed to tie the game up in the fourth quarter thanks to a 26-point binge. In a extremely close series like this one, preventable losses are compounded exponentially. It is impossible to speculate on what would have happened if the Warriors closed out Game 1, but there are more positive scenarios with the Warriors taking a game off the Spurs in Game 1 than losing as they did. May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives against San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) during the second half in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT Offensive Efficiency The Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who had their best performances in Games 1 and 2, respectively, shot 33.9 percent and 32.5 percent, respectively, in their last three losses.Their offensive troubles didn’t stop them from shooting however. Between the two of them, they made 16 of their 96 attempts. The Spurs’ defense must be credited, as Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard proved themselves as great perimeter defenders, but one must also wonder why they kept taking shots when the Spurs best defenders were on them, when someone like Harrison Barnes had a mismatch against Tony Parker. May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) dunks the ball over Golden State Warriors power forward Carl Landry (7) during the third quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Spurs defeated the Warriors 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Defensive Potency After the Game 1 loss, in each of the Warriors’ losses, the Spurs made either more or the same amount of shots on less attempts. In Games 3, 5 and 6, the Spurs shoot an average of 7.6 percent better from the field, and in Game 5 specifically, the Spurs shot a better three-point percentage, 47.6 percent on 21 attempts, than the Warriors shot from the field. The Spurs seemingly had no pressure on the perimeter, as they averaged 38 percent on 60 attempts from beyond the arc in their last three victories compared to the Warriors 29.4 percent on 51 attempts.