It’s disrespectful to the Golden State Warriors to consider them a brink playoff team. They should be a solid top-six seed in a tough Western Conference.
The Golden State Warriors saw the writing on the wall with Kevin Durant‘s departure and made the most of it. They brought in D’Angelo Russell, a 23-year-old All-Star. He’ll help captain this team throughout the upcoming season.
Analysts all around believe this team may barely make the playoffs. While the Warriors are one Stephen Curry-injury away from being in a real dilemma, the same can be said of almost every team in the league.
The Clippers are one Kawhi injury away; the Lakers one LeBron injury; the Rockets one Harden injury. It can be said of the league’s top teams that they’re a borderline playoffs team without their main commanders.
At full strength, the Warriors will be among the league’s best. It was the exact same core that took this team to a 73-win season. They did have more capable veterans on that 2015-2016 roster, but that was the real only difference.
Take that team, reduce the veterans, add Russell, and hold Klay Thompson out for the bulk of the season to get this current Warriors’ roster. The Golden State Warriors should be at least a 48-win team.
They’ll be tough competition in the West.
The Rockets, Jazz, Clippers, Lakers, and Nuggets will also command the attention of the league. However, there’s no reason to believe the Rockets or Nuggets took that big of a jump this offseason. Even the Jazz haven’t proven they have a capable closer.
That said, the Warriors will struggle throughout the season. In a loaded conference like the West, that’s expected, but they’d be in a much worse position had Kevin Durant stayed. They made the most of this offseason and are still certainly a playoff team moving forward.
Stop disrespecting a team that’s made it to five-straight NBA Finals and has retained the exact same core that built the dynasty most millennials will remember forever.