Steph's passing, defense have shined early on for Warriors

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We are four weeks into the NBA season, and the Warriors maintain the best record in the league at 11-2. The plan to rack up as many wins as possible before Klay Thompson returns is off to a resounding start.

Here are some notes and observations about the last week of action:

1) The Warriors have dominated their "soft schedule"

Golden State currently has the best net rating in the league, and it is not really close. The Warriors have a rating of 12.7, with the next closest being the Miami Heat at 7. While some may point to the relatively easy schedule the Dubs faced early in the season, the ease at which they dispatched their opponents should have meaning.

2) Steph Curry the thief

It bears repeating: Steph Curry is not just passable on defense, he actually is a good defender. While there are many advanced metrics to break down a player's effectiveness on defense, Curry is doing his part in the traditional box score as well.

Curry currently ranks 12th in the NBA in steals per game at 1.7 per contest. In 13 contests this season, Curry has five games this season with three or more steals. Last season, he did not record five such games until his 34th game of the year.

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Curry also is hitting the defensive glass with a career-high 6.2 rebounds per game, good for seventh among all point guards in the NBA.

3) Curry is finding his teammates

In the loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night, Curry recorded his fourth game this season with 10 or more assists. Last season, in 63 games played, Curry only had four such games. His 6.7 assists per game are his highest total since the 2015-16 season when he was named the unanimous NBA MVP.

The Warriors as a team are leading the NBA in assists, assist percentage and assist ratio.

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