Do fast-starting Warriors still have cause for concern?

OAKLAND — First things first, know this much about the Golden State Warriors: They are a tremendous basketball team.

It certainly seems that way right now, especially after their 105-93 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night that extended their winning streak to 14 games and gave them a 19-2 record in what is their best start in franchise history and tops in the league. But since owner Joe Lacob unintentionally changed the mood surrounding his team this week, when his speech that was so critical of former coach Mark Jackson at a venture capitalist luncheon went viral and came off like the worst kind of premature touchdown dance, the timing seems right to remind the masses that even the most amazing of starts will always pale in comparison to a team's finish.

As Warriors general manager Bob Myers so aptly put it to Paste BN Sports, "All this is is a good start. If you look at (the season) and compare it to an NBA game, we have a little bit of a lead through the first quarter. But that doesn't mean you're going to win the game."

It's nitpicking time now, if only because these next eight days — which include road games at Dallas, New Orleans and Memphis and a home game against Oklahoma City — are fully capable of exposing Golden State's few flaws all on their own. Alas, we take a look at the Warriors' current concerns, with insight shared from Myers as to whether or not these are legitimate gripes.

Andrew Bogut's health

Yes, the Warriors' big man in the middle has only missed one full game with the right knee tendinitis that caused him to leave Monday's game at Minnesota after just two minutes. But because of his immense value and that hellish health history of his that goes back to those painful Milwaukee years, it's serious cause for concern any time he steps foot off the floor.

For those who may have forgotten, the Warriors' postseason was short-circuited by Bogut's rib injury that kept him out of their first-round loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last year. Jackson's ability to get that team to seven games against those Clippers without Bogut isn't acknowledged nearly enough, but it was still the latest reminder that their overall mission absolutely depends on his availability.

This season, with first-year coach Steve Kerr having turned Bogut into a Vlade Divac-esque facilitator on the offensive end and his dominating defense remaining like always, the Warriors' net rating (offensive and defensive output) was a whopping plus-19.7 with him on the floor and plus-5.5 with him on the bench entering Wednesday's game. The Rockets didn't have Dwight Howard (knee) in this latest win, but good luck in Memphis (and beyond) if Bogut isn't available against the Marc Gasol/Zach Randolph frontline that plays some of the biggest and baddest basketball around.

"It's just a tendinitis thing, is what it's being called right now," Myers told Paste BN Sports after the win on Wednesday. "It's day to day. I think probably because he has had some history, and also because he's important to us, (there's concern among the fans). But the doctors and trainers have said it's tendinitis, it's day to day. Those things can heal quickly or they can take a little bit of time. I don't know the exact timeline. I don't think anybody does."

Andre Iguodala's role

When the veteran small forward spoke in early November, there was one revealing detail that went unmentioned in a piece that explored the stigma that still surrounds the NBA's sixth men: Iguodala wasn't exactly eager to discuss the topic. After exchanging hellos at the team's practice facility, I asked Iguodala if anyone had told him about the line of questioning and the fact that we'd be analyzing the psyche of basketball's super subs.

"I don't know nothing about that," the lifelong starter said with a grin.

Because Iguodala is the good-natured sort, he played along and did his best to contribute. It was, in other words, not all that different than what he's been doing on the floor ever since Kerr decided to start young Harrison Barnes over him.

But Iguodala's impact in his unwelcome role has been undeniably underwhelming, and it's fair to wonder whether he'll grow frustrated later in the season if they can't find a way to fortify this fit. While he's certainly playing a positive part in the Warriors' league-leading defense, the 11-year veteran who came their way from the Denver Nuggets two summers ago on a four-year, $48 million deal is averaging career lows in minutes (27 per game), points (6.5), shooting percentage (43.5%), three-point percentage (29.8%), rebounds (3.1), steals (1.1) and assists (2.6). Against the Rockets, he had just one point, three rebounds and two assists while missing all four of his shots in 24 minutes.

"A lot of guys are finding new roles on the team," Myers said when asked about Iguodala. "And again, I would say that it's still really early in the season. But the fact that the team has experienced a lot of success, everybody has been making sacrifices. Even (Stephen) Curry's shot attempts are probably down a little bit, his minutes (are) for sure. I have complete trust in Steve (Kerr) to make those decisions, and we support them."

It's safe to assume that rival teams have been calling about Iguodala and whether or not he might soon become a possible trade chip, but all indications are that the Warriors will stand pat for the time being. For one, playing at this high of a level has a funny way of eliminating the pressure to make a move that so many other teams are certainly starting to feel. What's more, there is a sense that a true gauge on the roster can't be taken until forward David Lee returns from the hamstring injury that has kept him out for most of this season (more on this shortly). As for Iguodala's mindset now and in the immediate future, Myers is clearly not concerned.

"(Andre) is a total pro," Myers said. "One of the things we love about him is that he's a pro, and he knows that it's a long season. He knows we're going to need him. And he has been finishing most of our games. That's one of the reasons that he's so valuable, is he has great perspective. He's a guy who we're going to need if we're going to accomplish things at the end of the season. Battle-tested, playoff-tested. He's a captain. He's one of our captains. He's been great. No issues."

David Lee's return

This is a good problem to have, to be sure, but Lee's return is problematic nonetheless. The former All-Star has played just seven minutes in the regular season, as he made a brief debut on Nov. 5 only to leave shortly after when it became clear that he had come back too soon.

And now, with Draymond Green having a breakout season in his absence and Kerr having nicknamed the third-year forward "The Heartbeat" out of respect for his insatiable ticker, the question arises about how Lee should be utilized when he returns. Despite recent indications that Lee's return would be this week, Myers said only that he expected him back in "the next week or two."

Myers disputed the conspiracy theory that they are taking their time with Lee's retunr because the team is winning, saying, "(Lee's timeline is) not so much about the (Warriors') record as it is, 'Let's prevent it from happening again.' It's more about that, being smart about it. He already was cleared (previously), and he practiced a couple of times before he came back last time, but we don't want that to happen again."

Kerr has consistently said that he's not eager to change the starting lineup so long as the team is winning, meaning Lee — like Iguodala — will likely come off the bench when he returns. Still, Myers — whose bosses owe Lee $15 million for this season and $15.4 million for the next — sees opportunity there for him.

"To be honest, we're still trying to find out (what his role will be)," Myers said. "David has only played (seven) minutes of the season, so it's hard to say. We could have used him tonight. Rebounding, right? Second-chance opportunities, post-scoring, post-passing, running the offense through him in the high post. There's a lot of things that he did in the preseason — nobody watches the preseason, but I did — and he looked great in that role. So we expect him to come back and fit right in."

Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick.

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