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The Golden State Warriors got knocked out of the playoffs last season by a Lakers team that few saw coming, until their midseason acquisition of forward Rui Hachimura of the Washington Wizards and the improved play of Austin Reaves, of course.
The emergence of Reaves and Hachimura gave the Lakers a size advantage at multiple positions over a Warriors team stacked with guards or guard-sized players among its top contributors.
This season, the Warriors and Coach Steve Kerr have called for, and executed, a return to their roots. Kerr has called for a return to ‘small ball' as well as a more united team on both ends of the court.
Warriors fans are anticipating the possibility of a shocking breakout season from a rookie at the forward position this season. Kerr revealed recently how talented youngster Jonathan Kuminga can make the Warriors a better team.
Kuminga's athleticism allows him to play bigger than his 6-foot-7, 225 pound frame. The Warriors will need more than just an improved season from the former first rounder to take down the big dogs of the Western Conference this season.
Size is the Warriors' Weak Point for 2023-2024
Prior to the season, Coach Kerr made a bold claim: the Warriors may use lineups with Klay Thompson at power forward, shifting to a “small ball” offense at a time when teams like Denver, San Antonio, and the Los Angeles Lakers are doing the opposite.
There is no better duo to start with than Thompson and Curry in any ‘small ball' offense, that much is for certain.
Beyond that, the Dubs are looking at a lineup with 6-6, 230 pound Draymond Green at the center position and 6-foot-7, 197 pound Andrew Wiggins at power forward, along with Chris Paul at the point guard position at six-feet-tall.
The talent, athleticism and shooting of such a lineup is going to be impressive to watch, especially if Kerr's Warriors are more united this season and play more together as a team as anticipated.
The question is whether it will be enough to slow down the big men in the West including 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama, 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren, 6-foot-10 Anthony Davis, 6-foot-11 Nikola Jokic of the defending champion Nuggets and similar players.
Will Lack of Size Doom Warriors?
The Warriors' odds to win the NBA title are +900 heading into the season, pegging them as a more likely winner than the Lakers, 76ers, Mavericks and other contending teams with big-name stars.
Kerr explained recently why the revamped Warriors are a ‘High IQ team' heading into 2023-2024. The hope for Golden State's coaching staff is that passing, shooting, and sound position defense can make up for the team's size deficiencies.
Kevon Looney and Dario Saric represent the Warriors' best hopes on the team's preseason depth chart to go mano-e-mano for rebounds in the paint with bigger teams, and both are savvy players.
Still, the feeling surrounding most NBA analysts is that the 2023-2024 Warriors are missing the size needed to dethrone Jokic and the Nuggets, especially as the playoff tread on Thompson, Green, and Curry's tires begins to wear thin entering into what are believed to be their latter years in the National Basketball Association.
The hope for Warriors fans, players and coaches is that there is enough firepower and talent to overcome the team's relative lack of size in an ocean of Western Conference big man talent.
As sports bettors have learned over the years, it would be foolish to bet against Curry and Thompson in anything resembling a shooting contest. Whether or not the Dubs have what it takes to turn playoff games into the style they prefer from years past, and capitalize on it, is a different and more unlikely proposition altogether — though not an impossible one.
