The Warriors defense began the year quite poor, ranking near the bottom of the league. But the spark of playing the Clippers has rebooted the defense, and the Warriors have been to show the individual commitment and intelligent teamwork that marks the best of their past league-leading defense.

Last night, the Miami Heat were tired on a back-to-back and were missing eccentric talent Dion Waiters. This led them to try Hassan Whiteside as an offensive focal point. The Warriors nearly shut him out, throwing a variety of single, double and triple coverages that confused him and exploited his commitment to never passing out of the post.

Draymond Green had an extra stake, after his public Twitter beef with Whiteside, basically over whether Whiteside could score on Green.

Here’s a video of Whiteside going 1 for 9 against the energetic Warriors defense, with co-stars Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Patrick McCaw and Kevon Looney, who did a decent job on his tall foe.

GSW Defense Stops Whiteside This is how Hassan Whiteside was shut down by the improving Warriors defense, fueled by the power of Twitter beef. Co-starring Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Patrick McCaw and Kevon Looney. Posted by Golden State of Mind on Tuesday, November 7, 2017

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