INDIANAPOLIS — Winning at a higher rate than any other coach in NBA history, Steve Kerr knows he can’t complain about much when doing his job.

He’s coaching an unprecedented group of talent that was only made possible by a fortunate salary cap boom in July 2016, as well as the timing and discounted nature of Stephen Curry’s contract extension in November 2012.

When a team has the luxury of a superstar-driven lineup, any deficiencies feel less important. The weaknesses you can point to — at least the tangible ones — don’t seem to matter in the grand scheme of a season. The most talented rosters find themselves on the NBA’s biggest stage regardless of their small mistakes.

For the Golden State Warriors, the demon hiding under the bed has been known this entire time. Since Kerr arrived in October 2014, turnovers are the only negative component that consistently makes him scream, throw his hands in the air, and call angry timeouts.

Goofing around, trying to be too flashy, or simply underestimating the defensive intelligence across the league has turned into the glaring blemish. While it’s the only blemish for a team sitting atop the championship mountain, the importance of ball security can’t be undermined.

The Warriors wouldn’t have the reputation of taking an egalitarian offense to new heights if they weren’t aggressive. No offense is able to become elite without taking its fair share of risks.

“We always walk a fine line between order and chaos, which we like,” Kerr said.

The chaos reared its ugly head last season. The carelessness piled up to almost unhealthy levels after their 16–1 run through the 2017 Playoffs. But, could anyone blame them? Coming off a breeze through the West and looking over to see the Cavaliers’ talent depleted with Kyrie Irving out of the picture, they had no reason to go pedal to the metal last year.

That season (2017–18) featured the Warriors’ worst turnover percentage of the Kerr era, and their worst ranking (relative to competition) in the last decade. They coughed up turnovers on 15.3 percent of their possessions, which ranked 25th in the league — ahead of only four lottery teams and a very young Philadelphia 76ers group that was still learning how to play together.

For the 58-win, championship-contending Warriors to give away offensive possessions at such a high clip, it annoyed Kerr more than anything. It still does.

There was a moment in late October 2017 that Kerr just had enough. In the seventh game of the season, hosting the Detroit Pistons (before they acquired Blake Griffin), it was a turnover fest that cost Golden State the win. The Warriors combined for 25 turnovers, but 22 came from the starters. Draymond Green, who the team leans heavily on for playmaking, had six turnovers and only two points.

In an eight-point loss where your team shoots 57 percent from the floor, more than two dozen turnovers will be the difference.

“At some point, the ball just has to matter,” Kerr said after that home letdown. “The game has to matter for us to win.”

In the playoffs, they became more alert and focused. For the most part, they were cautious about slinging the ball around the court. A lot of it had to do with their offense being forced into more simplistic actions, as a result of many teams switching defensively and encouraging one-on-one attacks. Golden State only turned the ball over on 13 percent of its possessions during their 16–5 playoff journey, finishing fourth behind San Antonio, Boston, and Houston.

Now 50 games into their fifth season under Kerr, they have experienced a pleasant surprise.

It would make sense for a team coming off four straight Finals appearances to get lazy, or somewhat arrogant when they know there’s a lack of strong threats in the West. In a normal world, a team destined for another championship would care even less about taking care of the ball on a random Monday night in January.

That isn’t what we’re seeing.

Thus far, it has been the opposite. Only 13.8 percent of the Warriors’ possessions have been turnovers this season, placing them in the top 10 as the All-Star break approaches. It is the lowest turnover rate and best league ranking since Kerr took over as head coach:

2014–15: 11th

1,185 turnovers on 8,205 possessions (14.4%)

2015–16: 18th

1,245 turnovers on 8,329 possessions (14.9%)

2016–17: 20th

1,211 turnovers on 8,308 possessions (14.5%)

2017–18: 25th

1,267 turnovers on 8,267 possessions (15.3%)

2018–19: 10th

710 turnovers on 5,152 possessions (13.8%)

The difference in turnover percentage among all these seasons might seem marginal to fans. However, when extrapolating this year’s efficiency to a whole season, the significance cannot be understated.

Currently, the Warriors are on pace for 8,449 offensive possessions over this 82-game schedule (yes, that’s the result of today’s quicker pace). If their turnover percentage sticks at 13.8, that’s only 1,165 turnovers for the whole season. It would be the lowest amount of their dynasty, despite shattering the number of possessions.

If they committed turnovers at the same 15.3 percent mark from last year, they would be on pace for 1,293 giveaways — the most of the Kerr era. So, the difference between 15.3 and 13.8 percent, when extended to a full season, is roughly 128 turnovers. That’s a lot of potential points being erased. It’s also a lot more fastbreak chances for the opponent if the majority of those are live-ball turnovers.

The balance between order and chaos, as Kerr calls it, is the most difficult to achieve when a team’s offensive style is predicated on constant movement.

“Leaning toward the ‘order’ side makes more sense, because we have so much talent that we just can’t give away possessions,” Kerr said. “When we don’t give away possessions and stay even, or better in the possession game, it gives us a great chance to win every night.”

He’s not wrong.

Obviously, the talent overload contributes to winning more than any other factor. Plus, the advantage of having the two greatest shooters of all time — with Kevin Durant belonging in the top 10 — allows a certain threshold of mistakes because they can always make up for them.

Taking a look at the Warriors’ winning percentage based on their turnover mark, however, illustrates the line between a “great team” and “historical anomaly.”

Since 2014–15, they have played 378 regular season games. First, their win-loss performance during high-turnover games:

15-plus turnovers:

136–47 (.743)

61-win level for a full regular season

18-plus turnovers:

55–20 (.733)

60-win level

20-plus turnovers:

27–10 (.730)

60-win level

Even when they have committed 20 or more turnovers, their winning percentage over the last five seasons is something most organizations would dream of. In that context, it really isn’t fair.

When there’s a concerted effort to value possessions, it enters a new stratosphere:

12 or fewer turnovers:

108–15 (.878)

72-win level for a full regular season

10 or fewer turnovers:

51–6 (.895)

74-win level

8 or fewer turnovers

15–1 (.938)

77-win level

In January, the Warriors are wrapping up one of their most impressive months as an organization. Since losing to the Houston Rockets on Jan. 3 after James Harden tap-danced on every defender imaginable, the Warriors haven’t experienced a bad game. They are 11–1 in January, defeating teams by 15.1 points per 100 possessions.

The only month that can be argued against it would be November 2015, when Golden State rattled off a 16–0 stretch and won by 14.8 points per 100 possessions.