The Warriors are slowly but surely turning things around, thanks in part to an empowered bench unit.
Speaking with reporters following Golden State's 116-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday at American Airlines Center, Warriors star Draymond Green raved about the second unit's newfound belief in themselves.
"I think just a different level of comfort and with that level of comfort, because it's certain," Green said. "You know what's coming, you know who you're out there with, you're getting more accustomed to playing with those guys.
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"So I think their confidence is back."
Green noticed that the Warriors' bench unit's confidence was "waning" as a result of various changes and the team's tough start to the 2022-23 NBA season. The 32-year-old said that a good indicator of the bench's renewed confidence is each player's plus/minus rating.
"The entire second unit is pretty much positive, our first unit, negative," Green explained. "Two weeks ago, we couldn't say that. We couldn't get near that two weeks ago."
Golden State Warriors
Against the Mavericks, four of the five bench players had a positive plus/minus rating. Jonathan Kuminga led the team in plus/minus at plus-21, in 25 minutes off the bench.
The 20-year-old had a double-double with 14 points -- on 6-of-8 shooting from the field -- and 10 rebounds while also spending time guarding Luka Dončić.
Recently slated to play more with the second unit to stabilize them, Green is happy to see that steps are being taken in the right direction.
"It's uplifting to see these guys starting to figure it out and coming along because ultimately, it's going to help us continue to win games in this season," Green said. "More importantly, it allows guys to get the proper rest so you're not expending more than what you needed to expend in game 22.
"So it's beautiful to see."
After being down by as much as 17 early in the game, the Warriors' second unit constantly brought Golden State within striking distance throughout.
However, a traveling violation on Steph Curry and a missed 3-pointer by Klay Thompson at the buzzer ultimately sealed the Warriors' fate.
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Although Tuesday's result was not what Warriors fans expected, they can take solace in the fact that the team is getting things together.
And that should be a sight for sore eyes, just like it is for Green.