Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder roll in to test Warriors’ progress – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors are choosing not to look at the procession of animals lying in wait as they enter the most treacherous stretch of their 2024-25 NBA season. They’re fixated on the first one to greet them, knowing it’s as ugly as they’ll see.

The only team in the Western Conference with a better record than Golden State’s 12-5 comes to the Chase Center on Wednesday. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 13-4 record puts them on pace to repeat as the No. 1 seed in the West.

And here are the Warriors, after missing the NBA playoffs last season, trying not only to get back to the postseason, but to prove they belong there and are good enough to make a deep run.

But first the immediate. The Warriors need to get off the floor. Losses to non-contenders in the San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets over the last five days have them trying to pick themselves up, regain their balance and see how good they can be. Still, they need to know that if the Spurs and Nets can exploit them, the Thunder and the other monsters that follow can bury them.

“They have a great team,” center Trayce Jackson-Davis said of the Thunder. “They’re No. 1 and we’re No. 2. I’m pretty sure it’s going to rock (tonight). Can’t wait.”

Golden State dropped the Thunder 17 days ago and romped to a 127-116 victory in Oklahoma City. Still, that game offered a glimpse of the Warriors at their worst. They took a 28-point lead into the fourth quarter and had to withstand a late rally — OKC got within six with 4:46 left — to win.

The Warriors escaped that night, but their tendency to treat big prospects with indifference is how they lost to the Spurs and Nets. It’s a dangerous matchup against even mediocre teams, which is why Golden State spent Tuesday in a laboratory undergoing serious self-evaluation.

“Those are games we should close out,” Kerr said. “And of course we face a daunting schedule ahead.”

What makes the Thunder especially scary is their top-rated defense, their collection of two-way swings, led by Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams, and casually spectacular All-NBA point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“We can’t foul him,” Kerr said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “That’s the first thing when you play them. If he gets to the line 12 times, the six possessions, you take the ball out of the net and play against a set defense. They are no. 1 defense in the league. … But the violations are the killer. He’s going to make tough shots. But you can’t give him the easy stuff in transition and you can’t give him the free throws.”

Gilgeous-Alexander is fifth in the NBA in scoring (29.2 points per game), ninth in steals (1.7) and 15th in assists (6.5 per game). He is second among guards in field-goal percentage (50.9) and third among guards in blocks (1.1). His 8.0 free throw attempts per match ranks number five. Gilgeous-Alexander torched the Kings on Monday, producing 37 points and 11 assists in a 130-109 rout.

The most impressive thing about the Thunder is their depth. Defenders and shooters come in waves. Golden State’s win earlier this season was largely the result of OKC center Chet Holmgren’s hip injury in the first quarter. The Warriors outscored the much smaller Thunder 95-63 over the next two-plus quarters.

Ten days after Holmgren went down, backup big man Isaiah Hartenstein made his Thunder debut. He is a few inches shorter than the 7-foot-2 Holmgren, but makes up for it with about 40 pounds of muscle. He is averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds in his first two games.

Hartenstein presents different problems than Holmgren, but he is no less of a challenge for Golden State’s big man trio of Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and Jackson-Davis.

“Playing against Isaiah last year, he’s a big rebounder who plays in the pocket with the quick finishes,” Jackson-Davis said. “An underrated ability in his game is his passing. We’re just going to play him 1-on-1. Me and Loon, Dray. And then we’re going to stifle the shooters and make sure we’re cutting off passes.”

The Warriors addressed the issues that plagued them in the last two games. They believed they found enough solutions to get back to being the team that was among the most surprising teams in the league through the first month of the season.

Golden State’s schedule is entering the relentless stretch. No better place to measure short-term progress than to start by meeting the best at the conference.

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