Don't look now, but the Warriors are absolutely cruising to start the season. After dropping their opener to the Suns in a game that Draymond Green missed, they have won four in a row. Their +9.8 point differential translates to a 64-win pace, per Cleaning the Glass. And they're a top-10 team on both sides of the ball, ranking No. 8 on offense and No. 7 on defense.
Leading all of that improvement is, of course, Steph Curry, who is playing yet again at an MVP level. But the player with the highest plus/minus on the team is none other than their sterling new sixth man, Chris Paul.
Paul has driven a ton of winning over his career. He's doing it again in a bench role, and he hasn't even come close to playing his best yet. His shot has been off — he's hitting just 38 percent of his shots from the field and is 1-of-19 from 3. But he's doing everything else so well that he's turning the Warriors into a legitimate championship contender.
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Chris Paul has reinvigorated the "strength by numbers" approach
During the Warriors' heyday, Steve Kerr got his team to embrace the mantra of strength by numbers. Yes, the Warriors had a transcendent star in Curry. But they would win games behind the depth of their bench and contributions from everyone.
That strategy completely fell apart last year. Jordan Poole was a massive negative by on/off data, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody were not able to replace the production of Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica, and Gary Payton II dealt with injuries after being reacquired at the deadline.
The bench had been at its worst when Curry sat. Last season, the Warriors were outscored in those minutes by 2.2 points per 100 possessions in the regular season and a whopping 14.1 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs, per Basketball-Reference.
Paul has fixed that problem and turned it into one of the team's biggest strengths. That same on/off data has them outscoring teams by over 26 points per 100 when Curry sits this year.
Paul has made every player on the bench better by getting them the ball in their favorite spots. Payton's finishing at the rim isn't quite there yet, but he is looking more like the player he was during their championship run every day. Dario Saric has gone from a player whose salary was dumped to save money last season and a minimum contract player this summer to a very capable small ball 5. Moody and Kuminga are having the best years of their short careers.
Paul was brought in with the goal of limiting the Warriors' turnovers, which has been a huge weakness for years. He's done just that, averaging 8.2 assists to just 1.2 turnovers. The Warriors have gone from dead last in turnovers per game last year to a more respectable 19th this season behind Paul's decision-making.
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Chris Paul and Steph Curry have found ways to work together
The concern in adding Paul to the roster was always going to be how to make a slow pick-and-roll guard like him work in the Warriors' motion-heavy offense. He insisted that those concerns were overblown, and he's looking right so far.
Paul and Curry may not be starting games together, but they have been closing them. They've been effective, outscoring opponents by 13 points in their 72 shared minutes, per PBP Stats. And Paul has been good at finding Curry for assists, playing off each other in Pistol action to create openings in the defense.
Paul has also helped keep Curry's minutes down. Curry played only 32 minutes in a back-and-forth victory over the Kings on Wednesday night. When asked how he was able to do that, Kerr told 95.7 The Game that "it's a lot easier when you have Chris Paul."
Chris Paul is doing all of the little things
The Warriors are going to have rebounding issues when Paul is out there. But he's done his part — his 4.6 rebounds per game is his highest total since playing for the Thunder back in the 2019-20 season. He's finding ways to tap the ball out over larger players and make hustle plays.
That hustle extends to the defensive end. He's not close to the All-Defensive guard that he was in his prime. But there he was, in a key possession late in the game against the Kings playing stout post defense on Harrison Barnes.
Chris Paul will NOT be moved in the post pic.twitter.com/0pRMd7olEU
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) November 2, 2023
The chemistry that Paul has brought has also been outstanding. He was captured by 95.7 The Game pounding teammates' chests and repeatedly dapping up Klay Thompson after Thompson's game-winner against the Kings on Wednesday. That positive attitude has been noticed by teammates.
"Last year we had an awful team as far as chemistry goes," Draymond Green told ESPN's Kendra Andrews. "It was hard to come to work. Not fun. So this year you see the joy on guys' faces when they come into the building. You got guys staying over two to three hours just talking. Getting two to three hours early just to be here. You start to see that, and you're like, 'OK, this is a group that likes to be together.'"
This is still Curry's team, and there is a ton of season left to be played. But Paul has handled his move to the bench with grace, and he's been brilliant in it. What's even scarier for opponents is that he's doing all of this without being able to hit a jump shot to save his life.
Once Paul's shooting luck changes for the better, the Warriors are going to have yet another level to hit. With a reinvigorated bench and a way to keep Curry fresh all season, they should be right up there when it comes to the discussion of championship-level teams.
