How Warriors remind Kerr of 2014-15 Golden State team originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Warriors have only played four games so far this season, but there’s something different about this team than the past two years. Yes, the Warriors are undefeated. It’s more than that, though.
There’s a feeling to this squad that has been absent for quite some time.
Golden State enters Thursday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 season when they went on to win an NBA record 73 games. However, it’s the team from the year before that is being compared to the current one. Steve Kerr’s start as the Warriors’ head coach was the 2014-15 season, and even he sees the comparisons.
“What is similar is the chemistry that exists and the unselfishness and the depth of the roster,” Kerr said Wednesday on 95.7 The Game’s “Damon and Ratto.” “We’ve got a whole team full of guys who I feel very comfortable playing.”
Kerr admited that it’s not fair to automatically expect the Warriors to win 67 games and become NBA champions like they did in 2015. There is a reason the Warriors’ “Strength in Numbers” mantra is back, though.
In the Warriors’ comeback win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, Damion Lee scored 20 points in 25 minutes off the bench to be the hero of the game. Everything starts with Steph Curry. That hasn’t changed. The depth, though, has been noticeable from the get-go.
Kerr also pointed to being able to play Gary Payton II, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica and even Chris Chiozza against OKC.
RELATED: How Lee set himself up to have big season with Warriors
“When we put them in, we just expect them to play well, Kerr said. “That does remind me of 2015 when we had [Leandro] Barbosa, [Shaun] Livingston, so many guys coming off the bench who were such good players.
“There is a similar dynamic, but that team was at a different level talent-wise than this one.”