There are the Warriors and there are the Suns. Then there’s a big gap between them and the NBA’s 28 other teams.
So thank goodness the NBA’s two best squads are finally going to play each other this week.
For the Warriors (18-2), who have aced every test they’ve faced through a quarter of the season, back-to-back matchups with the Suns (17-3) on Tuesday and Friday in Arizona and San Francisco respectively represent the toughest tests yet.
There’s no question that the Warriors are an exceptional team, but are they the best?
At this point in the season, only Phoenix — winners of 16 straight games — could make a more than fair claim on that favorite status.
And while the season is still in its early days, this checkpoint for both teams will establish a pecking order heading into the true-but-unofficial start of the NBA season — Christmas, when these two teams will play again.
These two teams are — for the first time in a long time and probably for the first time ever — worthy adversaries atop the league. Two budding rivals that could define the 2021-22 NBA season.
“Nobody’s going to just walk in there and walk out with a win,” Draymond Green said after the Warriors win over the Clippers Sunday. “You’ve got to go in there and earn a win, take the win.”
That’s not normal regular-season talk. No, you’d expect to hear something like that during the playoffs.
And perhaps we will in a few months.
In the meantime, pride is on the line, and for both teams, that’s enough.
It’s one of the reasons that I’m excited that that these two franchises are representing the league’s best, because on the court, these two teams were built to play the game the right way and execute that on a nightly basis.
They’re actually trying to entertain and win. It’s a shame that concept has been so eschewed by some of the best teams and players in the league over the last few years.
The Warriors are playing as if their five-year dynastic run never ended. They’re first in the NBA in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) and second in offensive rating. In all, they’re outscoring their opponents by nearly 14 points per game.
They’re a juggernaut. All while Klay Thompson and James Wiseman sit on the bench, awaiting returns from injury.
The Suns started the season in unimpressive fashion, allowing just a bit of doubt about their splendid 2021 playoff run to materialize in league circles.
They’ve quieted that.
The Suns are now replicating that exceptional playoff formula in the regular season, putting them one win away from their longest winning streak in franchise history.
Devin Booker has been leading the way, averaging 27 points and making more than 50 percent of his filed goals (53 percent from beyond the arc) over the last five games.
The Warriors do have a rivalry with Suns point guard Chris Paul, one that has been comically lopsided since the Warriors hired Steve Kerr as head coach before the 2014-15 season.
But with Paul’s ability to conduct his team and annoy his opponent, Booker’s sharpshooting, and the rim running and rim protection of big man Deandre Ayton, the Warriors are in for a massive challenge.
The Suns are the kind of team that can not only find weaknesses the Warriors might have — they can punish them.
The switch-everything Dubs will try to defend Booker with Andrew Wiggins and Paul with Curry or, better yet, Gary Payton II. The Suns’ excellent depth and the Warriors’ excellent depth might negate each other.
But Ayton is the X-factor. He’s a handful.
Without Wiseman (and even with him) the Warriors lack a true big man for their lineup. Going into Tuesday’s game, Otto Porter should be considered the Warriors’ tallest player, though media-guide tomfoolery undercuts the human eye there.
Kevon Looney —who gives up five inches to Ayton — will be asked for his best games of the season Tuesday and Friday. Looney has proven neutralizing to some of the best bigs in the league before, but his minutes against Ayton will likely determine the game. Green will do his part when he gets the chance, but if Ayton is just one of 10 players on the court against Looney, the Warriors are in a great position to beat their new top rivals.
I won’t lie: it feels strange to call the Suns the Warriors’ rivals. There’s not much a rivalry between these two teams. The Warriors and Suns have both been generally bad throughout their history, and when they’ve been good, rarely have such seasons coincided.
But this season, it’s happening. This Suns-Warriors matchup has the makings of something special, something that can last.
These teams are good enough to make up for lost time.
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