Warriors head coach Mark Jackson and guard Steph Curry talk strategy. (GETTY IMAGES)

When you have sharpshooters like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on your roster, it’s hard to identify the Golden State Warriors as a defensive team. But somewhere beneath all the swishes and splashes, the Warriors have become a hard-nosed team that doesn’t mind rolling up its sleeves and getting dirty.

The stats won’t show it but the Warriors have actually played better defense than the San Antonio Spurs in their Western Conference semifinal series. You see Tim Duncan working hard to score against Andrew Bogut, you see Tony Parker’s signature teardrop blocked by Thompson, and he you see Kawhi Leonard struggling to post up against Curry.

Even the Golden State rookies are playing defense.

Forward Harrison Barnes wasn’t known as a great defender coming out of North Carolina, but he’s a good enough athlete to stay with quick guards and strong enough to hold his ground in the low post. Forward Draymond Green played for Tom Izzo at Michigan State, so playing defense comes naturally to him. In Game 2, Green had seven rebounds in 32 minutes. Center Festus Ezeli is raw, but head coach Mark Jackson won’t hesitate to play him in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors may not play lockdown defense like the Boston Celtics or Chicago Bulls, but they are making life very difficult right now for the Spurs.

It starts and ends with Bogut. The 7-foot Aussie is able to play Duncan one-on-one, which allows the rest of the Warriors to stay home and stay attached to the Spurs’ shooters.

Marcus Thompson II wrote this for MercuryNews.com

Warriors center Andrew Bogut was told before the series that he was on his own with Spurs star Tim Duncan, one of the greatest of all-time. Whatever happens, happens. But the help wasn’t coming.

To Bogut, that sounded like Australian for fun.

“I’m fine,” he said after totaling six points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s 100-91 Game 2 win. “He’s had games where he’s killed me, and I’ve had games where I’ve guarded him well. You’ve just got to battle against him.”

A major part of the game plan is to play straight up on Duncan. The Warriors don’t mind if he scores. They just don’t want to double-team him because that opens up avenues for the Spurs’ wealth of 3-pointer shooters. And Duncan is such a great passer, he can pick the Warriors apart.

So the Warriors are allowing Bogut — and rookie center Festus Ezeli — to take their medicine against San Antonio’s low-post specialist. He’s averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds the first two games. He’s shooting 42.9 percent (15 of 35).

Bogut is all but giving Duncan the midrange jumper. He’s using his size to keep Duncan from catching the ball deep and his shot-blocking ability to challenge Duncan’s array of post moves.

“If Tim gets off, like he did a little bit tonight, we’ll live with that,” Bogut said. “If he’s getting easy shots against me where he’s two feet from the basket, we have a problem. But if I keep working him, pushing him out, making him work for his buckets, we’re not too worried about it.”

Bogut is rugged and rough on the edges, which is exactly what the Warriors need at this point. They have enough pretty boys on the team. His post defense is the reason why the Warriors are able to survive without All-Star David Lee. He may not get the same attention as Curry and Thompson, but his presence in the middle is the difference between going home in the first round or playing for a spot in the conference finals.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

The Golden State Warriors need a full season from point guard Stephen Curry. (GETTY IMAGES)

Bringing in Jerry West as an adviser, as well as minority owner, to the Golden State Warriors was a very smart decision. The legendary executive has helped remake the team in a short amount of time.

Golden State started the purge last year when they traded volume scorer Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks in return for oft-injured center Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson. Bogut is a legit 15-point and 10-rebound player, but he has averaged just 58 games in his seven-year career. It’s a good thing they have Andris Biedrins available to come off the bench.

But if Bogut can remain healthy, he is a solid upgrade over Biedrins at the center position. He is a better rebounder and defender. Plus, he can score more effectively in the low post. Biedrins has battled injuries the last three seasons and never come close to the potential he flashed in 2008-09 when he averaged 11.9 points and 11.2 rebounds.

In my opinion, Harrison Barnes was the most NBA-ready player in the draft. I was shocked the Cleveland Cavaliers passed on him and took Dion Waiters. Barnes is a solid player that should start for the Warriors from Day 1. He will give point guard Stephen Curry a player to dish the ball to on the wing.

David Lee is an efficient power forward and should help Bogut’s transition a little smoother.

Klay Thompson is a young 3-point shooter who should benefit from Bogut’s presence. Expect an even bigger year out of him with a better center getting him even better looks at the basket.

The Warriors upgraded the bench big time. One of the smarter decisions was adding veteran point guard Jarrett Jack. Curry is constantly battling injuries and Jack gives them insurance in case Curry keeps that history going. Jack played pretty well in a bad situation last year with the New Orleans Hornets. He averaged 15.6 points and 6.3 assists.

They also added Carl Landry, an undersized frontcourt player who should help the bench. His energy, rebounding and second-chance points are a nice addition to any team.

Brandon Rush gives them a nice backup to Thompson, and he could see some time at small forward as well if Richard Jefferson continues to decline.

Jeremy Tyler may be running out of time to show he can play with the big boys, but he’s going to be buried on the depth chart this season. He’ll need injuries to occur for him to see much playing time.

West has helped turn around a moribund franchise. He is hoping to help the team make a playoff appearance, something that has happened just twice since 1994. The only question is can they stay healthy enough to compete in a vastly improved Pacific Division?

Projected finish in Pacific Division: Third (fighting for a playoff spot, most likely the eighth seed)

Darren Jacks is a regular contributor to OneManFastBreak.net. Send him an email at: djroxalot@hotmail.com