The Golden State Warriors have faced some level of disrespect for much of Stephen Curry's career. They were disregarded as a title contender during their rise because they were a "jump-shooting team". No one thought they could come back and win another title in 2022. And now everyone assumes the Warriors are floundering back into mediocrity.
John Hollinger of The Athletic recently profiled five teams that he believes will outperform expectations next season. One of those five teams was the Golden State Warriors, as Hollinger noted that betting markets have placed the line for Warriors wins next season at a paltry 45.5 wins.
That number is faily insulting to Curry, to Steve Kerr and the entire Warriors organization. That isn't meant to be a dramatic sentence; it is literally insulting because it takes a step away from what every objective metric would say about the team.
The Warriors are obviously better than that
As Hollinger points out, the Warriors have won 48, 46, 44 and 53 games the past four seasons, and that was without Jimmy Butler on the roster. After adding Butler last year they went 30-11 down the stretch, then upset the two-seed Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. Is this a 60-win team? Likely not. Is this a 50-win team? It seems very likely.
While the Jonathan Kuminga saga has stretched on all summer, the roster that Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office have assembled and are lined up to sign is extremely deep. That matters, because they certainly are not young, but even if rotation players miss time there will be someone else ready to step up into place.
If Stephen Curry misses extended time the Warriors would obviously be in trouble, but you can say that about nearly any team and their best player. He is healthy now, however, and has played in at leat 70 games over the last two seasons. When he is on the court, Curry remains a Top-10 player who still breaks defenses with his shooting and off-ball movement.
This is not the 2016 Warriors, or even the 2022 Warriors. The odds of this roster coming together to make a run at another title is slim -- it's there, but it's a longshot. Yet that doesn't mean this team will be anything other than a solid playoff team who easily clears the 45-win benchmark. The Western Conference is extremely competitive this season, but it has been for the entirety of Curry's career and he has still elevated teams to consistent success.
Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler remains a formidable trio, and either they will have Jonathan Kuminga (the most likely outcome) or another player like Malik Monk in his place. Al Horford is the perfect fit for what this roster needs. Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski are on the rise. Veterans that know the system fill the rest of the roster.
The Warriors are a really good team. For some reason, Las Vegas and the popular consensus doesn't see that. Thankfully, Stephen Curry and company are no strangers to being disrespected.