One NBA analyst believes, when the Golden State Warriors are healthy, they’ll be better than the Los Angeles Lakers, who are up 3-1 in the 2020 NBA Finals.
The Golden State Warriors were 15-50 last season. That’s not typical of a team that had been to five straight NBA Finals. Most fans were shocked when the Warriors continued to slip in the rankings, but it was obvious why.
We knew Klay Thompson was going to be out the entire 2019-2020 season after he went down in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals with a torn ACL. It was a devastating injury and one that would have lasting side effects.
Thompson was out, but Stephen Curry was still in the Bay Area. However, after the fourth game of the season, he went down as well. At the end of the year, the Warriors superstar backcourt duo combined for just five games.
The silver lining is they were awarded a top-two pick in the upcoming draft.
With Draymond Green struggling to carry the roster and D’Angelo Russell not being the fit they desired, Russell was traded and the Warriors ensuingly tanked. The Warriors were left out of the 2020 Orlando restart.
But, if they were healthy, would they be there? Would they be in title contention? NBC Sports’ analyst Tom Haberstroh thinks the Golden State Warriors, at full strength, are better than the Los Angeles Lakers, and you really can’t argue with his reasoning.
“If Klay Thompson is fully healthy, as in he is pre-ACL injury healthy, and not just getting back on to the floor and able to play, I’m going to go with the Golden State Warriors,” Haberstroh told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Grant Liffman.
“Because their big three, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry are better than the big three of Anthony Davis, LeBron James and fill in the blank there,” he continued with.
That’s a pretty strong take that some to most may not agree with. Some would disagree in the fact that Davis and James and two top-five players. If they aren’t in your top five, they’re certainly top-ten players which Thompson likely isn’t.
The Lakers’ high-level players countered by the Warriors dominant role players would create one intense series. That said, let’s hope Haberstroh, who may not have a common opinion on the matter, is correct.