The Golden State Warriors are playing their best basketball of the season.<\/p>\n
Rotation players are finally taking chances on offense. A win over the Miami Heat secured their longest winning streak of the year (four games). With a 7-3 record over their last 10 games, they’ve continued to build momentum as the playoff race tightens.<\/p>\n
Golden State\u2019s recent surge in efficiency even has the seven-time NBA champions within striking distance of the top five in the Western Conference standings.<\/p>\n
After struggling to find an offensive rhythm for much of the season, the Warriors have begun to show clear signs of improvement.<\/p>\n
One area in which Golden State has excelled is 3-point shooting. Against the Heat, the Warriors recorded their fourth consecutive game with 20+ made 3s, the third team in NBA history<\/a> to do so. So far in the season, Golden State leads the NBA with 720 made 3-pointers<\/a>, underscoring the volume and consistency behind their recent offensive growth.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the Warriors have been the NBA’s most efficient offense over the past two weeks. Their improved spacing, ball-movement, and shot-selection have stood out during this stretch. As always, Stephen Curry<\/a> remains the focal point of the Dubs’ offense. However, refined decision-making and the enhancements they’ve made to their off-ball movement have allowed them to rely less heavily on the 15-time All-Star.<\/p>\n Right now, there is balance. The Warriors have sustained an offensive flow even when the ball is out of Curry’s hands. As previously alluded to, the main reason Golden State have won 11 of their last 15 games is because their rotation is finally stepping up.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, Curry has averaged just 16.8 points per game during the Warriors’ win streak (while shooting just 37.1% from 3). In that stretch, it’s been De’Anthony Melton<\/a> who’s stepped up, and from off the bench. The eight-year veteran has averaged 17.3 points per game over his last three outings, providing Golden State with much-needed secondary scoring.<\/p>\n Melton’s willingness to attack closeouts and take open shots has completely changed the team’s dynamic. This has given the team as a whole much greater confidence both offensively and defensively.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s got a different level of athleticism.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Steve Kerr on De’Anthony Melton pic.twitter.com\/KKFHriA2sT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 14, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n If he sustains his current form while other players continue to step into expanded roles<\/a>, it’ll definitely ease the starter’s offensive burden. As the bench capitalizes on these opportunities, the Warriors will be better positioned to maintain momentum as the season rolls on.<\/p>\n Before Jimmy Butler<\/a> suffered a season-ending ACL injury<\/a> against his former team, the answer would have been a definitive yes. Replacing a player as versatile as him is inherently difficult. He’s actually completely transformed the franchise since joining them last season, making his loss a major blow to Dub Nation.<\/p>\n Bad news aside, Golden State\u2019s recent performances give fans reason for hope in the Bay. However, uncertainty now surrounds Golden State’s momentum. In the end, it’s difficult to see where the Warriors go from here.<\/p>\n The question that’s on everyone’s mind: Will Jonathan Kuminga<\/a>, who would have been considered trade-bound<\/a> just 24 hours ago, be forced to return to action<\/a> to help cover Butler’s absence?<\/p>\n \u00a9 David Gonzales-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Golden State Warriors are playing their best basketball of the season. Rotation players are finally taking chances on offense. A win over the Miami Heat secured their longest winning streak of the year (four games). With a 7-3 record over their last 10 games, they’ve continued to build momentum as the playoff race tightens. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5650,"featured_media":173648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1608,62,3],"tags":[1593,142,4297,48],"class_list":["post-173298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-warriors","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-deanthony-melton","tag-jimmy-butler","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-stephen-curry"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173298"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173651,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173298\/revisions\/173651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Rotation Players Stepping Up<\/h3>\n
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Can the Warriors Sustain This Run Without Jimmy Butler III?<\/h3>\n