Could the Golden State Warriors have won a 30-team tournament?
The league-worst Golden State Warriors could’ve been at full strength had they return to action in the NBA’s 22-team restart.
The Golden State Warriors were the NBA’s worst team in 2020. They had just 15 wins. With 50 losses, the Warriors’ season ended at 65 games as the team will not be apart of the 22-team restart.
However, that 22-team restart could’ve been far more interesting. A few concepts that the NBA never would have done but were tossed around by fans would include all 30 teams; however, the right move with the 22 was done.
A full-league tourney with a play in for the last few spots was one option. A full-league tourney with potentially a three-game series for the first few rounds was another concept, maybe one that gave bye rounds to the top four or so teams.
Either way, we know what the league will proceed with, and it’s not those. But, if they had done something like that, would the Warriors have stood a chance? The easy answer is yes. After all, why wouldn’t they have?
A similar team in the 2014-2015 season went on to win the NBA Finals. Klay Thompson has been medically cleared, and we’ll never know if he would’ve been available as he was potentially going to play if the team was in playoff position in late spring.
Stephen Curry would’ve been healthy. While the team likely would’ve needed more, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Curry and the supporting staff could’ve given any other team in the league problems.
Thompson and his ability to return to 100% would’ve been the difference-maker. As we saw in the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson’s availability makes all the difference. The team could’ve won Game 6 had he never been injured and potentially went on to threepeat.
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The Warriors will want to improve for next season, but they should feel confident that this team has what it takes to win the 2021 NBA Finals.