How the Warriors became the hottest team in the NBA’s Western Conference

Update: The Warriors lost to the Mavericks, 141-121, on Saturday night, ending their winning streak at four games.

The longest winning streak in the Western Conference currently belongs to the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors won their fourth straight game on Friday night, storming back to defeat the Phoenix Suns, 105-96, at the Chase Center. Golden State wiped away a 12-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter behind some clutch shooting from Draymond Green and a suddenly surging defense that has been playing like a top-10 unit in December.

The Warriors have now taken out the New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, and Suns in consecutive games. Before the streak, Golden State owned the worst record in the NBA. Now the team has a better record than the Hawks and the Knicks, and are one of four teams with nine wins on the season. They are currently 5.5 games out of the No. 8 seed in the West despite still owning the worst winning percentage in the conference by decimal points over the Pelicans.

How have the Warriors gone on this streak? Is there any chance Golden State can stay within striking distance from the playoffs in time for Stephen Curry’s return? This is what you need to know about the streaking Warriors.

Golden State entered December with the fourth worst defense in the NBA. Since December started, the Warriors have had the No. 7 defense in the league.

The Warriors are allowing 106 points per 100 possessions over this month, which is slightly better than the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, and Toronto Raptors, three teams who have been near the top of the defensive efficiency rankings all season. Golden State’s defense locked down the Suns in the fourth quarter on Saturday by limiting them to only 18 points.

Green has been the captain of the defense, but the entire team is making plays during this month, even two-way guard Ky Bowman who had this incredible block vs. Phoenix.

Green spoke about the improvements Golden State has made recently after the game:

“A month ago, we would’ve lost this game by 40,” Draymond Green said. “With the way we were playing in the first half, even through the third quarter, shots weren’t falling, we would’ve got blown out the gym.”

More than anything else, defense has been the catalyst for Golden State’s recent revival.

Russell has felt like an awkward fit on the Warriors since the moment he arrived in the Bay. While long-term trade speculation will continue to linger, the 23-year-old guard is finally starting to find his groove on this team.

Here are Russell’s numbers during Golden State’s four-game winning streak:

Russell has asserted himself as the team’s go-to scoring option in the fourth quarter. This winning streak never would have got started without his late shot-making vs. New Orleans:

Russell is currently the leading mid-range scorer by shooting percentage in the NBA. He is putting up slightly better scoring numbers per 100 possessions than he did a year ago when he was an All-Star with the Brooklyn Nets. He also has a slightly better true shooting percentage than last year.

It’s a long shot, but not impossible. The Warriors are playing their best ball during a time when many teams are starting to sleepwalk through the schedule. At 9-24, the Warriors have the lowest winning percentage in the West while still also being only 5.5 games out of the No. 8 seed.

Curry was slated to miss three months when he broke his hand at the end of Oct. That means it’s possible he could return after January. The Warriors will be cautious with Curry. They will also be cognizant of their lottery odds. Right now, Golden State would be No. 3 in the lottery standings. The Warriors will also run into a roster crunch with Bowman and Damion Lee, a pair of key contributors who are on two-way contracts that are close to reaching expiration. Bowman has 11 days left with the Warriors on his 45-day limit before he has to return to the G League. Lee has 12 days left on his contract.

At the moment, Golden State is surprising everyone but Green. He had a premonition this winning streak would come.

It still feels strange to think of the Warriors as the league’s biggest underdog, but that’s what they are right now. If they revert back to being at the bottom of the NBA, credit the Warriors for giving their fans some fun moments in December.