Hear me out, I understand they have two superstars in Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry who have been MVP’s in the NBA and have been scoring champions but Klay Thompson and Draymmond Green are not superstars. Can Klay Thompson get hot and go off for 30-60 points any given night? Absolutely but he is not consistent on the offensive end and Draymmond Green does not scare anyone on the offensive end either. Sure Draymmond Green
is an exceptional floor general a do it all power forward who can push the ball up the floor and serve as a floor spacer and defensive anchor but at the same time he is undersized and not a go to scoring option.
I do not want to sound bias or sound like I am discrediting the Golden State Warriors who have built the franchise from the ground up through the draft the way any team should look to build a team. They basically just put the stamp on their experiment by bringing in superstar Kevin Durant to join a team where he fits in seamlessly with what they do which is push the ball up the floor,move the ball around,rotate on defense and serve as a help defender, and of course Kevin Durant is not too bad a 3 point shooter to go alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. They boast 3 of the league’s elite 3 point shooters who can get ridiculously hot any given night in a playoff series but Klay Thompson and Draymmond Green are not taking over a series for you simple as that.
Take a look at their bench which is spearheaded by Andre Iguodala,Shaun Livingston, and David West. Zaza Pachulia a journeyman is their center and a liability on offense, he basically serves as a big body in the paint but he is no rim protector or anything to game plan for during a game. Compare Golden State’s bigs which are Zaza Pachulia,Drammond Green,David West, Javale McGee, and rookie Jordan Bell and that is nothing to fear honestly, the Rockets can counter their bigs with Clint Capela and Nene Hilario who can defend all Golden State’s bigs and serve as more dangerous scoring options. Again I am not trying to diminish the Golden State Warriors but they can certainly be beat because they do not have the rim protection nor the inside presence they can go to if Kevin Durant,Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry are having a bad shooting night.
The revamped Cleveland Cavaliers even after trading away Isaiah Thomas,Jae Crowder,Derrick Rose,Dwyane Wade, and Channing Frye along with their own first round pick revamped their lineup and acquired less bigger names but the pieces they acquired fit better around Lebron James. Rodney Hood,George Hill,Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr are certainly not bigger names then the players Koby Altman decided to part with but they are younger and will play around Lebron James. The Cavaliers were dysfunctional quite simply because Isaiah Thomas was used to dominating the offense and at the same time was not 100 percent healthy coming back from his hip injury, bad combination if you ask me. The defense suffered because their was no communication on neither the offensive end or defensive end, expect the Cleveland Cavaliers to be a whole lot better on defense and Lebron James to play motivated again around younger talent with more legs to get stops.
Are the Golden State Warriors the favorites? Certainly they have the most experience going into the playoffs and are battle tested and what makes them the most dangerous is they know when to turn on the switch on defense and how to make adjustments throughout a series. I would not be surprised if they repeated as champions this season but the competition is certainly there. Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs are counted out year after year but if you take a look at what Pop is doing you would notice he is getting his young players a lot of playing time. Young players such as Bryn Forbes,Davis Bertans,Joffrey Lauvergne,Dejounte Murray, and Kyle Anderson are not big names by any means but they have excelled with the opportunities they have been given and it will only help San Antonio once Kawhi Leonard gets back. Their depth will be something opposing teams will fail to match come playoff team, the Golden State Warriors lack the depth the San Antonio Spurs,Cleveland Cavaliers, and Houston Rockets have.
To conclude the Golden State Warriors could have the makings of a dynasty but concerns arise a year from now when Klay Thompson will be a free-agent and Kevin Durant took a pay cut in order for the Warriors to re-sign Andre Iguodala,Shaun Livingston, and David West to maintain their depth. Kevin Durant is eligible for a max contract so expect Bob Myers to fork up at least $150 million to Kevin Durant and we are kidding ourselves if NBA teams won’t be lining up with 4-5 year max offers for Klay Thompson. This season the Golden State Warriors will have to prove just how great of a team they really are because the Cleveland Cavaliers,San Antonio Spurs,Houston Rockets,Oklahoma City Thunder, and Boston Celtics all can defeat them in a playoff series.
D-NBA 