Some Warriors stats through three preseason games

The preseason has not been kind to the Golden State Warriors, who are 1-2 with a negative point differential.

But then again, it’s only the preseason. Last year, the Warriors went 1-4 in preseason play. And they’ve yet to get minutes from their two centers, Kevon Looney and Willie Cauley-Stein. Plus, Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell rested for the team’s game on Monday.

So don’t read into the record, at all.

But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to learn. Preseason stats aren’t entirely predictive, but they do begin to tell a story. So let’s look at the key team stats for the Warriors after three preseasons games. And while we’re there, let’s compare them to the 2018-19 Warriors regular season stats, to get some relativity going.

Note: If you’ve read other articles about the Warriors preseason, you might see some statistics ranked out of 38 teams, because there have been 8 non-NBA teams that have participated in the preseason. I’m eliminating those teams. All of the Warriors rankings in this article are relative to 30 NBA teams.

Offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions)

Preseason: 102.7 (15th in the league)
2018-19: 115.0 (1st)

Defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions)

Preseason: 104.5 (22nd)
2018-19: 108.6 (11th)

Three-point percentage

Preseason: 33.9% (13th)
2018-19: 38.5% (3rd)

True-shooting percentage

Preseason: 54.9% (15th)
2018-19: 59.6% (1st)

Assist rate

Preseason: 63.9% (16th)
2018-19: 66.8% (1st)

Assists per turnover

Preseason: 1.31 (14th)
2018-19: 2.06 (1st)

Defensive rebounding rate

Preseason: 64.7% (30th)
2018-19: 72.7% (17th)

Offensive rebounding rate

Preseason: 25.9% (18th)
2018-19: 25.7% (23rd)

On the whole, the Warriors have been rather dismal statistically through three games. But it’s just three games, and it is the preseason.

The question becomes, which of these stats is a budding trend, and which will be reversed? We’ll soon find out.