Keith Smart continues to emphasize defense, though the Warriors still have a long ways to go to become legitimately strong at that end of the floor.
"I'm pretty sure we won't be a top-five defensive team," point guard Stephen Curry said after practice Thursday. "But I guarantee you won't see us in the bottom third of defensive stats like we were last year."
"My thing is," Smart said, "no matter who you're playing, (the question is) if you're in place and your concepts are good. You want to make sure you are where you're supposed to be defensively, make sure your communication is still there. And the other part of that is are we playing hard? We're not satisfied, but we're moving in the right direction."