Too early Win-Loss prediction for the Warriors
By Derek Tahara
The Golden State Warriors have kept their core together and added even more pieces in the offseason. How many games do they stand to win this season?
The Western Conference is coming for the Golden State Warriors. The Houston Rockets traded for Chris Paul pairing him with star James Harden. The Minnesota Timberwolves added Jimmy Butler to an already young and explosive team. The Oklahoma City went out and traded for Paul George to try to compete in the daunting Western Conference and pair him with the nuclear explosive athlete in Russell Westbrook.
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Despite all of these changes to the Western Conference, the Warriors will once again finish with the West’s best record and best record in the NBA. The question now becomes, what will the Warriors record be come by the end of the regular season?
The Warriors went into the offseason with one goal: retain all of their pieces to the 2017 championship. Mission nearly accomplished. The Warriors have re-signed MVPs Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. They re-signed backup point guard Shaun Livingston and swingman Andre Iguodala. The Warriors also re-signed centers Zaza Pachulia and David West. They have yet to decide if they are going to re-sign backup guard Ian Clark and center JaVale McGee.
Along with retaining most of their championship roster, the Warriors also bolstered their scoring off the bench, so Durant and Draymond Green do not have to start the second quarter on the floor and instead rest on the bench. Nick Young is another sniper who can come off the bench and unleash points in a hurry and is a serviceable defender after buying into former Warriors assistant and Lakers head coach Luke Walton’s defensive principles. Omri Casspi, a former King also known for his long-range shooting, slashing and cutting ability will be an added bonus to the Warriors second unit.
The Warriors retained most of the championship team and brought along two snipers in Young and Casspi and drafted a defensive specialist and block machine in Jordan Bell out of Oregon. Barring any kind of major injury to any of the Hampton’s 5, the Warriors got better and they are set up to win more than their previous 67-wins and win 70 games.
Prediction:
In the 2017-2018 season, the Golden State Warriors will go 70-12 during the regular season, becoming the first team in NBA history having two 70+ win seasons.
Yes, there will be back-to-back games when the Warriors are heavy-legged and tired, which is where the defense of the team should take over. When the shooting percentages are below normal, this is when the Warriors stifling defense should take over led by Green, Iguodala, Durant and Klay Thompson.
There will be nights when the shooting percentages are sky-high and the defense is lockdown. Even if the Warriors are not sharp on the defensive end on some nights, the firepower the Warriors possess should be enough for them to get back in the game and try to steal it at the end.
However the games go, the Warriors will be the first team ever winning 70+ games in the regular season multiple times by going 70-12 during the course of the 2017-2018 regular season.