Warriors' Joe Lacob not looking back at Mark Jackson, Kevin Love
OAKLAND — The hallway outside of the home locker room at Oracle Arena is quite the red carpet scene these days, a place for Golden State Warriors players, coaches, executives and owners alike to collect glad-hands and gratitude amid all this unprecedented success.
They will always appreciate winning within these walls, where the woeful Warriors of old made the playoffs just once in 18 tries before an ownership change led by venture capitalist Joe Lacob changed it all in 2010. Yes, it's only early January and there's plenty of time for MVP front-runner Stephen Curry and these modern-day Warriors to tail off, but who can blame them for enjoying the franchise-best 27-5 start that has them looking capable of winning their first title since Rick Barry's Golden State squad pulled it off in 1975.
Yet as always-excitable Lacob stood surrounded in that most jovial of tunnels after his team's latest win this week, that familiar smile fixed to his face like it has been so much of this season, even he wasn't about to mistake this midseason celebration for anything more than what it was.
"It's good," Lacob told Paste BN Sports about the start after his team followed its Friday night rout of the Toronto Raptors by dominating the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-91. "But I think making the playoffs a couple years ago (was a personal high point), after all those years when the team didn't. That was a really good feeling. This is interim returns right now. We're doing really well, but it really doesn't mean much until we're kind of in the playoffs and in a good position, hopefully in the top half. Then I'll be able to reflect just a hair."
Come Friday night, it will be impossible not to think back on how the Warriors got to this point.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers come to town, the subplots of the Warriors' offseason will be front and center: Former Warriors coach and current ESPN analyst Mark Jackson will be on hand to call the game, and almost-Warrior Kevin Love will look to lead the LeBron James-less Cavaliers. From Lacob on down, there was no shortage of scrutiny sent the Warriors' way when they decided last offseason to change head coaches (firing Jackson and opting for Steve Kerr) and decline a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves that would have landed them a three-time All-Star in Love.
The former choice is hard to argue with at the moment, as Kerr is tied with Al Cervi (a player-coach for the 1949-50 Syracuse Nationals) and Chris Ford (1990-91 Boston Celtics) for the best start through 32 games among first-year coaches after leading this group to impressive improvements on both ends of the floor. The defensive unit that was ranked third in the NBA under Jackson last season is now leading the league (96.2 points allowed per 100 possessions), and the offense that was 12th last season is currently fourth. But for all the well-deserved credit that has come Kerr's way, the decision to pass on Love and hold on to young wing players Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes is looking wiser every week.
Love has struggled in Cleveland, where team chemistry and defense — two hallmarks of this Warriors team that has had its core together for three years now — are clearly in short supply for the reeling Cavaliers (19-16). With James having missed the last five games with a knee injury and back problem and expected to be out until mid-January, Cleveland has lost six of eight games and must now face five of the Western Conference's top eight teams in its next seven games.
The Warriors, meanwhile, are loving their lot in life.
But the choice to pass on Love hardly was a case of accidental fortune, as Golden State general manager Bob Myers and his front-office team had serious concerns about what his addition — and the subtraction of Thompson — would do to their defense. From the time Lacob first took the podium nearly five years ago, a shift toward a defensive culture was a major priority that has long since been realized. The merits of that argument were on full display on Monday night against Oklahoma City.
With Barnes hounding reigning MVP Kevin Durant and Thompson terrorizing Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, the Warriors held the league's most dynamic duo to a combined 8-for-37 shooting and Oklahoma City to 30.6% overall. It was the type of perimeter attack that simply wouldn't have been possible if the Love deal went down and one that has kept Golden State out in front without defensive anchor Andrew Bogut. Despite the center having missed all but two minutes of the past 13 games with a knee problem, the Warriors have the league's top defense during that stretch (97.7 points allowed per 100 possessions).
The value that comes with continuity was a major factor as well, and yet another area in which the Warriors' non-decision has paid off. Curry, perhaps more than anyone, appreciates that it was taken into consideration. After falling to the San Antonio Spurs in the second round in 2013, the Warriors fell to the Clippers in seven games without Bogut in the first round last postseason. The internal hope — one that appears entirely reasonable thus far — is that this group was ready to take the next step.
"We know each other, and obviously building on the foundation that we've had for the last three years with pretty much the same core means a lot," said Curry, who lobbied for forward Draymond Green to be given All-Star consideration in light of his key emergence. "You go through experiences, you fall short and figure out how you're going to get back up and become a better team. We've done that two straight summers, and we go into this year with guys who are a little more experienced and just hungry for what we're trying to do.
"(Continuity) goes a long way, and obviously (the front office) has to make decisions on bringing talent in and what have you. That's above our pay grade, but we understand that capitalizing on this chemistry we have is huge. There aren't many locker rooms like we have in this room. Guys who are selfless, guys who just play the game the right way. We appreciate that because it's rare."
Lacob swears he doesn't watch the Cavaliers any more closely than other teams because of the Love saga that could have shaped his team so differently, insisting that the brutal Western Conference landscape that surrounds his team occupies all of his attention. But this much seems clear: their halls wouldn't be nearly this happy if that deal had gone down.
"No, I never look back — ever," Lacob said. "The more important thing is what can we do to improve, if it's possible, at this point. Is there a way we can (improve)? ... If we could do something to improve, we would, but right now it's pretty hard to improve when you're the best in the league."
