Stephen Curry Fuels an 8-Game Win Streak for the Golden State Warriors

At 38 years old, Stephen Curry barely needed twenty minutes of floor time Monday night at Chase Center to dismantle New Orleans, pouring in 25 effortless points alongside 25 from Brandin Podziemski and 23 from energetic forward Yaxel Lendeborg in a 51-point, 138-87 demolition of the Pelicans. It marked the eighth consecutive victory for the Golden State Warriors, arriving right after Curry torched Orlando for 17 of his 41 points in the final seven minutes to seal a 126-119 overtime thriller.

For a franchise opening the 2026-27 campaign without veteran stars Jimmy Butler III and Kristaps Porzingis—and losing three more perimeter defenders over the past week—merely treading water near .500 in November would have qualified as a major victory. Instead, head coach Steve Kerr’s small-ball reinvention sits 8-3, second in the Pacific Division, and top-two across the NBA in offensive efficiency, effective field-goal shooting, and total assists.

How Steve Kerr Turned Preseason Survival Mode Into an 8-3 Juggernaut

When training camp closed with both Jimmy Butler III (recovering from knee surgery) and prized frontcourt addition Kristaps Porzingis (sidelined by an illness setback during preseason ramp-up) unavailable until at least January 2027, outside expectations cast Golden State as a fragile play-in hopeful. Instead, Kerr leaned straight into the franchise’s championship DNA: relentless off-ball split action, high-tempo ball movement, and Draymond Green orchestrating small-ball defensive coverages from the center spot.

Through 11 games, that blueprint has yielded an 8-3 record and an eight-game winning streak heading into Wednesday night’s marquee showdown in Houston. Operating at a brisk 97.3 pace factor, Golden State ranks second in the entire NBA with 319 total assists (29.0 per game, sporting a 20.2% assist ratio), proving Kerr’s read-and-react motion system still scrambles modern coverages whenever Curry crosses half court.

Yaxel Lendeborg, Gui Santos, and Al Horford Reshape Lineup Versatility

With veteran wings unavailable, Kerr’s confirmed starting five of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Yaxel Lendeborg, Gui Santos, and Draymond Green has injected startling athleticism and connective hustle around Golden State’s Hall of Fame core. Lendeborg’s Monday line—23 points, seven rebounds, and four assists—underscored how seamlessly his baseline cutting and glass-crashing complement Podziemski’s secondary playmaking and Santos’s tireless weak-side activity.

Behind that energetic first unit, veteran center Al Horford and stretch forward Georges Niang supply high-IQ floor spacing and positional poise, while De’Anthony Melton, Charles Bassey, LJ Cryer, Graham Ike, and Malevy Leons give Kerr modular lineup combinations across back-to-backs. Horford’s ability to protect the rim, trigger dribble handoffs, and hit trail threes preserves Golden State’s five-out geometry whenever Green rests, keeping opposing bigs stranded twenty-five feet from the basket.

Number-One Three-Point Accuracy and Top-Six Rebounding vs. Turnover Risks

The league-wide efficiency numbers behind Golden State’s 8-3 start are breathtaking. Outscoring opponents 120.4 to 111.2 per night, the Warriors boast the NBA’s second-ranked ORTG (offensive rating, points scored per 100 possessions) at 123.8 against a solid 15th-ranked DRTG (defensive rating, points allowed per 100 possessions) at 114.3 for a +9.5 net differential. Golden State ranks first in the NBA in three-point accuracy (40.3%, hitting 16.5 threes per game on 449 total attempts, launching triples on a massive 47.3% 3PAr, or three-point attempt rate), second in both eFG% (effective field-goal percentage, 57.2%) and TS% (true shooting percentage, 61.5%), fifth in free-throw shooting (82.0%), and 13th in two-point accuracy (54.3%).

Even more impressive for a small-ball starting lineup, Golden State leads the Pacific Division and ranks sixth across the entire NBA in total rebound rate (53.3%, grabbing 12.5 offensive boards per game for a 31.4% offensive rebound rate), while sitting fifth league-wide in steals (98, or 8.9 per game), ninth in blocks (59, or 5.4 per game), and 13th in paint points (498). The primary structural vulnerability remains Kerr’s age-old nemesis—live-ball carelessness and fouling, with a 14.4% turnover rate (15.8 player turnovers per game, 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio) plus the NBA’s eighth-highest personal foul total (243) and 20 technical fouls.

Six-Deep Injury Attrition Tests Backcourt Depth Ahead of January 2027

Golden State’s margin for error in the backcourt tightened further this week as six players populate the inactive report. Reserve guard Brandon Williams suffered a mild left hamstring strain Monday night against New Orleans—carrying an estimated November 22 return that clouds Golden State’s upcoming five-game road swing—right after second-year guard Will Richard tore a ligament in his left thumb (planning to play with a protective splint rather than undergo surgery, estimated November 11 check-in) and Gary Payton II sat out a second straight contest with knee inflammation (estimated November 13 return).

Longer term, 24-year-old wing Moses Moody (out with a knee injury, progressing through individual court work toward an estimated December 1 return) is tracking ahead of 37-year-old Jimmy Butler III, who continues clearing jump-landing milestones following January surgery toward an estimated January 2, 2027 target. Kristaps Porzingis also carries an estimated January 2, 2027 return window as he works with the medical staff on a full recovery from his preseason illness setback. Until then, De’Anthony Melton and sharpshooter LJ Cryer will shoulder crucial reserve guard minutes.

Rest-of-Season Ceiling Once Winter Reinforcements Join Curry’s Surge

Wednesday night’s visit to Toyota Center against Kevin Durant and the 8-3 Houston Rockets—pitting two 38-year-old former championship teammates against one another while Golden State chases a ninth consecutive win—serves as a premier litmus test for ball security and interior rebounding against Houston’s 34.0% offensive glass rate. Surviving this five-game road stretch without Williams and Payton will require Podziemski and Melton to keep live-ball giveaways under wraps.

Big picture, banking an 8-3 cushion with a +9.5 efficiency differential before Moody returns in December and Butler and Porzingis target January 2027 completely alters Golden State’s Western Conference trajectory. Rather than scrambling out of a play-in hole in the spring of 2027, Kerr can manage Curry’s and Green’s winter workload from a position of genuine Pacific Division strength.