Will Steve Kerr have a job at the end of this year? Will Klay Thompson return better, the same or worse than his pre-injury self? Will Kevon Looney come back from this nerve thing? Will D’Lo’s ankle be alright?
These questions are major cause for concern for the defending Western Conference Champs. There are a lot of unknowns. And those unknowns make for a very, very interesting season for Warriors fans like myself.
More and more people, fans included, are starting to write-off the Warriors’ playoff hopes. I’m not so quick to pass that opinion on to you. I’m certainly growing more pessimistic each day with each missed layup or rebound opportunity, yet I still feel like the Dubs are still ok.
With Eric Paschall showing us glimpses of what he can really do, Omari Spellman energizing the bench, Cauley-Stein making an immediate difference on defense, and the shooting of the wings starting to come around, the Warriors are in better position than most would think.
This is a prime time for the lowercase dubs to get quality run early in the season, build confidence, and develop their NBA game quicker than they normally would. Besides, they’ve seen some really good teams already (e.g. Clippers, Spurs) and the experiences in those games are starting to show in a positive way.
Imagine when Curry comes back in a few months and the young Warriors are no longer the lowercase dubs we see right now; rather, they start sentences and leave no questions.
One advantage the Warriors have in abundance that most teams don’t have is youth. While it may hurt to watch them this early in the season, at just under 25 years of age, the Warriors are one of the youngest teams in the league. The Lakers are old. Rockets, old. Utah, getting there. My point is, over the course of a long 82-game season, youth certainly has its advantages. Sustained energy is one. The other is proneness to injury. I hope all players have a healthy season–both physically and mentally. However, there are no guarantees (as we just saw with Steph’s broken hand). Even the top teams are just an injury or two from exploring tanking options.
So the question becomes–and has always been (as the Spurs figured out)–how deep is your bench? How well do you develop the young guys? How solid is your G-League program? All this experience on the big stage for the Warriors’ two-way players and rookies is invaluable and will only pay major dividends in the near future.
If Golden State can secure their first win at the Chase Center against a strong Portland squad this evening, their confidence can ride them to a stronger-than-expected record with Curry out. However, if they lose, no biggie…It’s a learning opportunity and a chance to get better. On to the next one.
