The Golden State Warriors are no longer the juggernauts that ruled the NBA for the last five years. As a matter of fact, they have fallen so far that some are questioning whether or not they will even make the playoffs this season.
Count ESPN analyst Jay Williams among that group.
While Williams said on ESPN's NBA Countdown that he thinks Stephen Curry and D'Angelo Russell represent the most intriguing duo in the league heading into the 2019-20 campaign, he doesn't see the Warriors making it to the postseason.
Williams cites the fact that Klay Thompson will be out for a good chunk of the season while recovering from a torn ACL as a big reason why Golden State will miss the playoffs. He added that Thompson probably won't even be 100 percent once he returns.
Also, Williams does not necessarily think that Curry and Russell are such an interesting duo to monitor because they are going to be so good together. Actually, what made the duo interesting is fans and experts alike don't really know what to expect from Russell in this new system.
Williams makes a a couple of good points.
Not having Thompson will be significant, and the dynamic between Curry and Russell — two ball-dominant guards — could definitely be somewhat abrasive.
Of course, Kevin Durant is no longer around either, and even key depth pieces such as Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston are gone.
All of that being said, it seems hard to imagine the Warriors failing to make the playoffs. The championship DNA is still there, and so long as Stephen Curry and Draymond Green stay healthy, they should be able to carry the Dubs to a postseason berth, even in the tough Western Conference.
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