It seemed as if the Warriors were forgotten about when they hit a few bumps in the road during the regular season; however, their play over the past few games is certainly being talked about now.
The media talked about the Suns and the Grizzlies, for good measure, but it seemed that the Dubs were confident all along that they would be perfectly fine if they got healthy at the right time.
The Golden State Warriors have taken it to the Denver Nuggets, giving fans a renewed taste of what playoff dominance feels like.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, after playing only 11 minutes all year together, have looked fabulous in the first two playoff games.
Earlier in the year, it appeared as if the Suns and the Warriors were on a year-long collision course to represent the Western Conference in the conference finals.
Coach Steve Kerr’s veteran squad had to implement Thompson into the swing of things, dealt with the tough news regarding James Wiseman’s injury status, and lastly watched Curry and Green go down with injuries in the second half of the season.
Golden State still was able to secure the three seed in a tough conference, and now it seems as if the media is back to hyping up a potential matchup between Phoenix and Golden State, that is if the Suns can make it through the first round following Devin Booker’s hamstring injury.
The player development of the Dubs has been magnificent for a little more than half a decade now.
The emergence of guys like Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and Otto Porter Jr., has given the team so many different possible rotations that Kerr can use, while also allowing for a more balanced scoring attack.
Green has been playing stellar defense on who many deem the future back-to-back MVP, Nikola Jokic. The reigning MVP has put up solid numbers, albeit while displaying serious frustration throughout both games, even leading to an ejection from Game 2.
Steph and Klay have found their playoff stroke, which is scary for the rest of the league.
However, the player who has completely stolen the show is the 22-year-old Jordan Poole. A lot of people saw flashes in Poole last year when Golden State just missed out on the playoffs. This year he has taken a massive step up.
The word “massive” might honestly be an understatement.
Poole in this series has been nothing short of a human highlight reel. The ball-handling and passing are what have really been impressive through the first two games.
Poole always seems a step or two ahead of the defense, showcasing his lightning-quick speed on drives and step-back shots that make him ridiculously tough to defend and eerily similar to his teammate and mentor, Stephen Curry.
If the Warriors can get continued production from the sum of their parts, as well as playing defense and offense at this level, then the dynasty might be revived.