The Golden State Warriors have tried to move away from their reputation as being one of the softest teams in the NBA.

"What I will say is that probably had some truth to it in the past," Mark Jackson said. "We've certainly addressed that via the draft, via trades, via free agents. And also through experience. We're a different basketball team today."

The Warriors have improved on defense, currently tied for eighth in the NBA in field goal percentage defense.

"We have the ability to play both brands of basketball," Jackson said. "So we're a good mix of East and West. ... We want to be physical. When we're hurt is when teams are more physical than us ... But when teams have the ability to be both versatile and physical, it's a tough matchup."