The Golden State Warriors didn't make many changes this summer. After winning the NBA championship, why wouldn't they? They bring back the core that defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games for the 2015-16 season. NBA MVP Stephen Curry will lead the way once again with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green coming back to add to the legacy of Golden State's version of the "Big 3."
Also back: Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut and Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. The Warriors are doubling down on the success of last year's team even while the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets made roster upgrades this offseason. The Warriors did lose a few cogs: They trade David Lee, who was useful in the finals after sitting on the bench for much of the regular season and assistant coach Alvin Gentry went to the New Orleans Pelicans.
But that shouldn't keep the Warriors from being one of the best teams in the league. With Curry, Thompson and Green, the Warriors are going to be good for a long, long time.
LAST YEAR
RECORD: 67-15 (first in Western Conference)
PLAYOFFS: Beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 4-2, to win NBA Title
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 109.7 (second)
DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 98.2 (first)
ROSTER
No. |
PLAYER |
POS |
HEIGHT |
WEIGHT |
AGE |
COLLEGE |
1 |
Jason Thompson |
PF | 6'11 | 250 | 29 | Rider |
4 |
Brandon Rush | SG | 6'6 | 210 | 30 | Kansas |
5 | Marreese Speights | PF/C | 6'10 | 255 |
28 | Florida |
7 | Ben Gordon | SG |
6'3 | 205 |
32 | Connecticut |
9 | Andre Iguodala | SF |
6'6 | 207 | 31 | Arizona |
11 | Klay Thompson | SG |
6'7 | 205 | 25 | Washington State |
12 | Andrew Bogut | C | 7'0 | 260 | 30 | Utah |
19 | Leandro Barbosa | SG | 6'3 | 194 | 32 | |
21 | Ian Clark | SG | 6'3 | 175 | 24 | Belmont |
23 | Draymond Green | PF | 6'7 | 230 | 25 | Michigan State |
30 | Stephen Curry | PG | 6'3 | 185 | 27 | Davidson |
31 |
Festus Ezeli | C |
6'11 | 255 |
25 | Vanderbilt |
34 | Shaun Livingston | PG | 6'7 | 182 | 30 | |
36 | Kevon Looney | SF | 6'9 |
220 | 19 | UCLA |
40 |
Harrison Barnes | SF |
6'8 |
210 | 23 | North Carolina |
Coach: Steve Kerr
Assistant coaches: Luke Walton, Ron Adams, Jarron Collins
OFFSEASON CHANGES
IN: Kevon Looney, Jason Thompson, Ben Gordon
OUT: David Lee, Justin Holliday
Looney will add depth to an already deep team and Gordon can light it up if he catches fire.. As mentioned above, the Warriors didn't do much this offseason in terms of personnel aside from the coaching departures.
DEPTH CHART
POINT GUARD |
SHOOTING GUARD |
SMALL FORWARD |
POWER FORWARD |
CENTER |
|
STARTER |
Stephen Curry | Klay Thompson | Harrison Barnes | Draymond Green | Andrew Bogut |
RESERVE |
Shaun Livingston | Brandon Rush | Andre Iguodala | Marreese Speights | Festus Ezeli |
RESERVE |
Leandro Barbosa | Ben Gordon |
Kevon Looney | Jason Thompson | |
RESERVE |
Ian Clark |
THE KEY QUESTION
With repeating in mind, how do the Warriors stacking up against the revamped Western conference?
There are a number of teams who could conceivably win the Western Conference this season — the Houston Rockets, L.A. Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs should all be considered reasonable contenders for the crown that the Warriors are about to defend. However, the Spurs are just a team that you can never count out, they beat the Warriors 2-1 during the regular season series last year, and they've added LaMarcus Aldridge to their aging core — nearly 65% of the GSoM community voted the Spurs as the biggest threat in a recent poll.
The Warriors have an advantage in depth, which could matter as teams are trying to muster up the energy to compete during a deep playoff run if nothing else. But the Spurs top five to six players could be elite as long as the older generation is able to continue holding off the effects of age.
-- Nate Parham, Golden State of Mind. Read the full preview here.
PREDICTIONS
BEST CASE: The Warriors keep crushing opponents offensively and defensively and run their way through the crucible that is the Western Conference again, earning the No. 1 seed on their way to a second straight NBA championship.
WORST CASE: The Spurs are just too good and defenses discover how to slow Curry and Thompson and Draymond Green tries to do too much offensively.