Warriors’ Biggest Concern Isn’t Stephen Curry’s Fault

The Golden State Warriors are off to a best-in-the-West start to the season and are expected to remain one of the best teams in the NBA all season long. Guard De’Anthony Melton was recently ruled out for the season, but the Warriors have plenty of depth behind him, evidenced by Steve Kerr’s 12-man rotation, which is a rarity in the NBA.

The Dubs have been linked to their fair share of trade targets, which makes sense, given that they are yet to have anyone taller than 6-9 suit up. Their lack of size is concerning, but one area in particular stands out as their biggest issue.

Despite being the best team in the Western Conference, the Warriors rank dead last in the NBA in free-throw percentage, with a make rate of just 70 percent.

“The last time an NBA team shot below 70 percent from the line for a season was five seasons ago when the Knicks did it. The last time a team with a winning record did it was nine seasons ago when the Pistons did it,” highlighted The Athleric’s Anthony Slater. “In a conference where the standings margins are expected to be slim, a few free-throw-related losses in the middle months could be the difference between several seeding slots.”

Stephen Curry’s 91 percent mark from the charity stripe is the best of all time. This season, he has made 95.3 percent of his free throws, which is the best of his career, excluding his five-game campaign in 2019-20. Curry’s mark this season rivals José Calderón’s all-time record of 98.0 percent in the 2008-09 campaign, but the rest of his team needs to get it together and make the easiest shot in the sport.