NBA is faster than ever – How will the Warriors fight the increase in pace?

ByNBAUSA


Comprehensive topic in Three losses for the Golden State Warriors this season was fast. Despite being favorites against the young Portland Trail Blazers, the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks and the winless Indiana Pacers, what undid the Dubs in those games, aside from a lack of focus and discipline, was the speed at which each team played.

In light of the Warriors’ incredible two-game trip to the Midwest, Steve Kerr identified X-and-O problems that dulled The Dubs’ early season momentum.

“The pace of the game these days is off the charts. It’s getting faster and faster, year after year. But I even think there’s been a step up this year in terms of style of play,” Kerr told reporters when asked what the team learned from the losses to Milwaukee and Indiana.

At the start of the 2025-2026 season, a huge trend around the league was the speed at which teams were playing. Teams are pressing all over the field at the highest rate in the player tracking era. The league average pace is the highest (100.8) from 1973-1974, and his league average in 3-point attempts per game (37.3) ranks second all-time.

Basketball in the modern era has become hyper-accelerated with speed, athleticism and shooting – no surprise. The Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, the two up-tempo, up-tempo teams that made it to the Finals, showed just how successful — and disruptive — that hyper-offensive, hyper-aggressive defense can be.

But that growing trend has affected Golden State’s style of play — namely, their usually stout, high-IQ defense.

How speed disoriented the Warriors defense

The prevailing feeling from the Warriors about their defensive woes on the road was a lack of communication on that end of the court. Part of that was due to a lack of focus, but Kerr stressed that their pace had caught on defensive games are planned by the unprepared.

“What I’m seeing is teams spreading it out, playing as fast as possible, making it harder to get to your coverages on the defensive end,” Kerr continued. “The faster the action, the harder it is for the defense to respond. I thought the tempo of Milwaukee and Indiana exposed some things we were doing defensively.”

The Warriors’ defensive scheme relies heavily on their communication – making sure all five guys are on the same page. Their defensive principles like their X-Out helps the defense recover, their scrum switches on mismatched pick-and-rolls, and even simple things like the occasional double-team all rely on conversation. But a faster pace means more time in transition. More transition means more chaos, which means more communication is needed, as Moses Moody pointed out.

“Some of it, we just have to get on the same page,” Moody said after Monday’s light practice. “We have different terminology, different principles that change as the game changes. So everybody just has to be on the same page and communicate. If we’re changing 1-on-5, then it might not have the same principles if you’re switching screens from guard to guard in a regular situation. Little details like that, where we have to get on the same page.”

Warriors center Quinten Post echoed Moody’s sentiment.

“It’s just a lot more chaos out there,” Post said. “The biggest thing for us is whatever we do defensively, we just have to do it with 100% effort. I think you get into the most trouble when you’re kind of unsure. Should you change this or should you stay home. That’s where you lose a lot of points. But if we attack every game with 100% intensity, then it’s okay if you make mistakes.”

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles as Indiana Pacers guard/forward Aaron Nesmith (23) defends during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Trevor Ruszkovski – Imagn Images

Does tempo favor Golden State’s offense?

While speed has burned the Warriors’ defense on the road, that doesn’t change how they want to dictate the tempo on offense. There are principles of finding early offense as much as possible with Curry creating controlled chaos – as the coaches call it “The Vash” – and using ball movement, spacing and cutting to create opportunities. And in connection with Jimmy Butler is “more intentional” and calculated iso-ball style, the Warriors have multiple ways to attack the defense. Right now, it’s about finding a balance between fast and slow.

“We found a balance at the end of last year when we got Jimmy to play with a little more thought and spacing,” Kerr emphasized at the same press conference.

“The key is we want to throw the ball forward and get a layup or get an open three – move the ball. And then when Jimmy gets it, now we’re coming to our spots. It’s kind of finding that sweet spot. Because we don’t want to go away from the split cuts for Steph, and the ball movement, and the flow that we’ve always played with between who we’ve always played with is finding that balance early in the season.”

Golden State’s offense has faltered through the first seven games. The Dubs’ offensive rating of 114.8 ranks a mediocre 17th in the league. At the height of his power, when Butler controls the rhythm and Curry finds his offense, you get games like Memphis or Denver, with scores in the 130s. But when it doesn’t work, and teams like the Blazers dictate the pace of the game, you get letdowns and offensive slumps. It’s a tricky balancing act, but as Kerr pointed out, scoring is only part of the dictated pace.

“The pace of games is dictated by different factors now,” Kerr said. “It’s not just pushing the ball. It’s breaking the offensive glass; it’s building walls in transition, closing down shooters. And athletes are better, like in every sport. Athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, more skilled. And that’s how defense got tougher.”

What does pace mean for veteran attrition?

Another thing that comes with a faster, more intense style of basketball is the mileage it adds to players, especially veteran players. Golden State is not a team built on spring chickens. Curry, Butler, Draymond Green and Al Horford are much closer to their 40s than their 20s. Over the course of 82 games, the faster pace is sure to wear on their bodies. It’s a problem the Warriors were acutely aware of entering this season. And with acceleration across the league, that’s something they are continuing the discussion.

“We’ve got to address that,” Kerr said when asked how the pace affects the veteran’s minutes. “We did it today. I sat down with Mike and Rick Celebrini, Dray, Steph and Jimmy — the main three who are going to play heavy minutes. I mentioned it the other night, seven games in 12 days, five cities. It’s not an easy schedule. And I think it showed the last two games. We looked half a step slower in a lot of ways.

Kerr was asked to comment on the conclusions of that meeting between himself, the star veteran core, the general manager and the vice president of player health and performance.

“Not every back-to-back is the same,” Kerr said, noting the upcoming back-to-back should be easier than the Midwest trip because the travel is less strenuous.

“The schedule isn’t always going to be black and white in terms of when to sit a guy, when to rest a guy. Same thing with every guy’s physical condition. Sometimes they’re rocked, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes if you have three in four nights and the third game is an off day, it bothers the players more than the back-to-back players because all the E-specs are old. Things we have to take into account.”





2025-11-04 17:00:00

Similar Posts