Rejoice, Dub Nation! With the preseason over, the Golden State Warriors will finally be taking the court on Tuesday for a game that counts. When they head to Brooklyn to take on the Nets, it will end a stretch of 287 days since the Warriors played a meaningful game. While it has technically been that long, we know that it has felt much longer. We haven’t seen our Warriors team since Game 6 of the 2019 Finals, prior to Klay Thompson going down with a torn ACL.
Unfortunately, we are going to have to endure another season without one of the Splash Brothers. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Klay will miss another season, this time with a torn Achilles. In a season that had so much excitement, having the news come out on Draft Day was a huge gut punch. However, with Stephen Curry healthy, James Wiseman in the fold, and other great moves made by Bob Myers and the front office, there is still enough on this Warriors team to have a lot of excitement for the upcoming season. With that, let’s dive into what we expect from this Warriors team this season.
Steph Is Healthy
We only got to see our two-time MVP play in five games last season. Because of that, it is hardly surprising that the Warriors were selecting second overall in the draft. While the loss of Klay was going to be tough to deal with, not having Steph out there was the nail in the coffin for the Warriors’ season. Being out this long definitely isn’t ideal for any player, but perhaps there is a silver lining for Curry.
Throughout his career, Curry has always been plagued by the ankle injuries. Luckily, the injury suffered avoided the lower body. This fluke hand injury he suffered wasn’t pretty, but it gave Steph’s legs plenty of much needed rest. He is now returning for a full season without Thompson or Kevin Durant playing alongside him. As a result, fully health and with new faces in town, Steph will have to do more in this offense. If the last two preseason games showed us anything, #30 hasn’t forgot how to score like his MVP self. In those two games, Curry had 44 shot attempts. Expect that to be the blueprint for much of the season. Get ready because he’s back and ready to remind everyone how great he is.
Warriors Draft a Center in the Lottery? That’s Wise, Man!
If you want to stop reading after that headline, I truly can’t blame you. Regardless, the Warriors got a consolation prize for not getting invited to DisneyWorld and just being bad last year. They got the second overall pick and spent it on a franchise big man they desperately needed.
While he hardly played at Memphis, James Wiseman was always a projected top three pick in this year’s draft. Nobody that roams around the Chase Center expected the 7’1″ 19-year-old to walk through those doors. However, one fluke Steph injury later, and here’s your new building block in San Francisco.
During the Warriors domination, Andrew Bogut, JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachullia, and Kevon Looney were all fine complimentary pieces playing the center position. They grabbed their rebounds and were efficient in their looks down low. While they deserve a lot of credit for their success, plain and simple, they just aren’t as talented as Wiseman. Will he need some time to adapt to Steve Kerr‘s offense? Absolutely. When he figures it out, does he have the potential to be one of the most dominant big men in the NBA? You bet he does. Watch out for Wiseman this year as he looks to prove that he is going to be a vital part of this future for years to come.
Wiggins or Oubre Have to Step Up
We know what we’re going to get from Curry. We also know that he can’t do it all alone. Without his fellow Splash Brother, he needs a reliable second option. We know that Draymond Green isn’t someone that Steve Kerr is going expect to score 15 points a game. We also need to give Wiseman some time getting into the flow of the offense. That means that it’ll be up to Andrew Wiggins or Kelly Oubre Jr to step up and immediately provide a consistent scoring threat.
Wigging had minimal time to get comfortable in Kerr’s offense prior to the COVID shutdown. Coming over in the trade that sent D’Angelo Russell to Minnesota, the former top pick finally got a change of scenery that many think he needed. Wiggins struggled with an inconsistent role in an offense that was built around Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler. On the other hand, Oubre enjoyed a breakout season last year with the Suns. Averaging nearly 19 points a game, Oubre established himself as a reliable option in Phoenix alongside Devin Booker. He made his way to the Bay Area after the Oklahoma City Thunder sent him packing after his brief stint following the Chris Paul to the Suns trade.
With their old team, both players didn’t need to be the top option in their offense. While they won’t be required to put up Steph-like numbers, they will need to be consistent second or third options when defenses focus in on preventing Curry from taking over. If one or both of them are able to accomplish this, the loss of Klay will hurt a little less.
The Depth Is There
It’s hard to find a positive from last year’s disaster besides being gifted James Wiseman. However, it resulted in players that were expected to be role players playing far more than expected. Rookies like Jordan Poole and Eric Paschall weren’t given much of a chance to get comfortable. Injuries hit early, and right away they were forced to play between 20-30 minutes per game.
There were also players like Damion Lee and Marquese Chriss, who were expected to be role players who ended up logging starter minutes. While the results of the games weren’t always pretty, there were positives to take away. Now, with a healthy Steph and pretty much three new starters, they return to contributing valuable minutes off the bench. These minutes last season will have a major impact on their bench production this year since they learned how to run this offense without the best players being out there.
So much of the Warriors success this past decade had to do with the depth they always had. Whether it was from Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, or David West, they always had veteran options ready to produce off the bench. With a blend of younger guys along with the signings of veterans like Kent Bazemore and Brad Wanamaker, expect Steve Kerr to rely on his second unit to be a vital part of this squad.
Battling the Wild, Wild West
Here’s a fact that we’ve been accustomed to hearing: The Western Conference is really good. With the exception of the Thunder, there isn’t a team that you can say, based off of their offseason moves, isn’t trying to compete. Even within their own division, the Warriors not only have to worry about the Lakers and Clippers, but the Suns also brought in veterans like Chris Paul and Jae Crowder while the Kings added Hassan Whiteside and drafted Tyrese Haliburton, who has the potential to be a dynamic fit alongside De’Aaron Fox.
This isn’t the same Warriors team who can flex their muscles with their four All-Stars and cruise to the playoffs. This is a team that is going to have to bring and fight their way to crack the postseason. Even though it is a very different team, the other 29 teams didn’t forget. They still are motivated to beat up on the Warriors following their run of dominance. Because of this, the Dubs have to go into every game knowing that all these teams are set on preventing them from returning to the playoffs. Because of this, staying healthy and not taking games for granted will go a long way.
It’s Go Time
Buckle up, Dub Nation. The team you love that the rest of the league loves to hate is back. Not only are they back, they are ready to get back to winning and being hated again. While it isn’t going to be the same without Klay out there, Bob Myers and the front office made the right moves to get this team ready to get back on top of the Western Conference. With a healthy Steph Curry, James Wiseman in the fold, and as much depth as they had during their finals run, this Warriors team is going to be fun to watch this season. The NBA is back and so are the Warriors. Sit back, and enjoy the ride.
