1. This season isn’t going to get any easier
I wrote earlier how difficult this season was going to be, and opening night proved I wasn’t kidding. The Warriors showed some typical post-championship malaise as they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. Kerr commented how out of shape the team was.
The wear and tear of three straight finals runs has already manifested itself. Even if Iguodala and Green don’t miss extended amounts of time, these kinds of absences are going to tally up. Every team out West has upgraded and would view beating the Dubs as the highlight of their season.
There’s no reason to panic – the Golden State Warriors are playing for the championship, not a regular season game. Even with all the funky lineups and injuries, they came within a fraction of a second of beating one of the top teams in the league. This is just a snapshot of the type of games that await the Warriors this season. They are going to have to learn how to win them.