For the first time in quite some time, the Golden State Warriors aren't the favorite to win the NBA title for the upcoming season. With Kevin Durant gone and Klay Thompson expected to miss the majority of the 2019-20 campaign recovering from his ACL injury, some experts don't even have the Dubs as an elite team in the Western Conference.
While one NBA executive doesn't really know what to expect from the Warriors next season, he says he wouldn't want his team to face the Dubs in the playoffs once Thompson is back and the team is rounding into form.
“I don’t know. I really don’t,” the unnamed exec told Keith Smith of Real GM. “Losing Durant hurts. Not having Klay hurts. But they’ve still got Steph (Curry). They’ve got (Draymond) Green in a contract year. (D’Angelo) Russell will be good for them. (Kevon) Looney is someone a lot of teams missed out on getting this summer. So, they are still good. For-sure contenders good? I don’t know. But I wouldn’t want to see them in the playoffs with Klay back and them rounding into form.”
Stephen Curry and D'Angelo Russell are going to put up stout offensive numbers together since both All-Stars are great shooters. The problem is neither guy is a good defender.
The Warriors were able to hide Curry on defense the past few seasons because of Klay Thompson's presence. It's going to be interesting to see if Curry will be able to handle his new workload on both ends of the floor sans Thompson. We have to remember Steph has a history of ankle issues.
If the Warriors can get into the playoffs with Curry, Russell and Draymond Green healthy, though, they'll have a fresh and motivated Thompson as their secret weapon. That could be a scary sight for teams.
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