The Golden State Warriors have been on an absolute tear the last half a decade, and an off year may be exactly what the doctor ordered.
There’s no denying that this season hasn’t kicked off the way the Golden State Warriors had hoped. They had a plan coming into the season, and with the injury to Stephen Curry, it just won’t pan out.
The original idea for this season was to tough out the first few months until the team could get Klay Thompson back in the lineup. Thompson is the difference between a playoff contender and a championship contender for these Warriors.
Thompson was slated to come back in March. However, now it may be both Curry and Thompson that return around that date. At 3-14, the Warriors are already well out of even the eighth seed in the West.
Their once-vibrant playoff aspirations have been shot.
But, there can still be silver linings to this season.
Eric Paschall‘s play is one. The play of veteran talents like Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III is another. The third is the chance for the stars to be humbled and refreshed after five straight Finals appearances.
This season will likely be reminding Thompson and Curry of their first year together. The Warriors went 23-43, and it was truly the start of something special brewing in Dub Nation. Since then, the team has been spoiled with three titles and seven straight winning seasons.
That’s a rarity in the NBA these days with free agency and players changing teams so prevalent. That said, the Warriors, this season, will sit back and see the team struggle just to allow them to see what success feels like next season.
A season off will also allow Thompson to fully heal as well.
If the Warriors were even close to playoff contention, he may have tried to rush back to help the team compete at an even higher level. After all, they’ve played over 98 games in five straight seasons. That’s depleting for a player’s body.
Even Draymond Green can sit the occasional game out instead of forcing through mid-November games that’ll just end in 30-point losses whether Green would have played or not.
Overall, let’s just hope this rest will allow the Warriors to get a new sense of direction and come back into dominance next season.