The Golden State Warriors have missed the playoffs for two successive seasons already, but the expectations are higher this season because of numerous signings and the anticipated return of Klay Thompson. Stephen Curry is expected to have another monster season, but there are many question marks surrounding their rotational pieces.
James Wiseman had an atrocious end to his rookie season, but he has a chance to reclaim his starting center spot from Kevon Looney.
Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins are two of the most criticized players on the Warriors, but it will be the season for both these athletes to prove themselves and reach their utmost potential once again. Green should be in contention for Defensive Player of the Year once again, while Wiggins has that chip on his shoulder to prove that he is not overpaid with his salary that is close to $30 million.
Even with the bright outlook for this team, these are the main reasons why it will still be difficult for them to replicate their championship aspirations.
Three (3) Reasons Warriors Won't Win Title
Strange balance of veterans and youth
Three of the major additions of the Warriors this offseason were Nemanja Bjelica, Otto Porter Jr., and Andre Iguodala. They will provide a terrific boost to the second unit of the team, but this may also hinder the development of their young draftees, such as Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and Wiseman.
Head Coach Steve Kerr has the challenge of balancing out the minutes for the youthful and veteran individuals. Moreover, Kerr must also have constant communication with others that are having a difficult time sitting on the bench, so they will understand on why he is trying out certain lineup combinations.
The Warriors have been trying to package some of their players to acquire a superstar caliber player from rebuilding squads which is the perfect compliment for the big three of Curry, Thompson, and Green. However with these current crop of players, it may pose an enormous challenge for Kerr and his coaching staff.
Fighting off the injury bug
The Warriors are beginning their campaign without two starters already in Thompson and Wiseman because of major injuries. They are expected to return in the early juncture of the season, but it will take several games and weeks to ramp up their workload and get back to producing numbers similar to their old self.
Curry is expected to carry the offensive load once again to begin the season, which will be risky for the two-time MVP to suffer nagging injuries that may keep him out for a couple of games. The aforementioned veteran signings will tend to sit out a ton of the back to back games to reserve their energy for the big matches in the playoff stage. Additionally, some of these experienced individuals would rather rest their minor injuries than risking their body in regular season matches that do not have high stakes yet.
With the unfortunate possibilities of the key pieces of Golden State suffering injuries or downfalls, it will be tough for them to compete with the best of the best in the loaded Western Conference led by the 2020 NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers.
Big Men and Rebounding
This batch of the Warriors lack the big men they used to parade like JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, and Andrew Bogut. In their preseason matchup against the Denver Nuggets, it was very obvious they had no option to defend Nikola Jokic because of their undersized bigs in Looney, Green, Bjelica, and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Warriors are going to push the pace on every possession, but the pace of play slows down in the Playoffs.
In the three previous championships of the Warriors, Green was able to play the center position on the most important stretches of the playoffs. On the other hand, they will still need to add prominent big men to defend the likes of Jokic, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, and Deandre Ayton in a seven-game playoff series this season. Wiseman is a 7'1″ giant, but he is still very raw and inexperienced to receive consistent playoff minutes for Golden State.
For the Warriors to mitigate their weaknesses on rebounding, they could decide to pressure the ball handlers more in order to force turnovers and create fast break opportunities. Moreover, with their quick and feisty guards, they could double the aforementioned big men on the post and recover instantly on the shooters of their opponents.
There are some that are expecting the Warriors to crack the Western Conference Finals at the very least, but there are some that are considering them as a play-in contender only. Their season will be a pendulum swing, but the responsibility of sustaining their success will rely on their main core.
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