No one expected the Warrior to lose last year, and oddly enough they did. That's why they play the game.
The warriors bench is not as deep this year though Ian Clark is annoying as shit...too their frontcourt is weaker...Pachulia, West, and McGee don't make up for what Bogut, Speights, and Ezeli gave them last year. But, then there is Durant.
Portland with Nurkic is the best challenge to them in the west, and by challenge I mean a 6 game series lol. Golden State is just too good this year.
I hate the Warriors so much... i'm cheering for anyone who will face them. For the first time in my life i'm going to be pro-Spurs (yuck).
Barnes and West are both annoying too. Although Barnes might miss the first game. Overall they might be deeper than last year. They had 11 guys average double digits in minutes. A very good 9 man rotation but it is these 4 that kill you: Curry, Klay, Durant, Green Iggy, West, Pachulia, and Livingston are more than just good role players too. They are the first nBA team ever to win 67 games 3 straight years....Injuries and suspensions are the only thing stopping them.
Would you say...we believe? (That was the slogan of the #8 seed Warriors team that beat the #1 seed Mavericks.) And yes, I think the Warriors can be beaten, if they suffer an injury or Green gets himself suspended. Other than that, though, I think you're left with the Dumb & Dumber scene: The Warriors defensive rating is actually better this year than last (#2, a hair behind the Spurs at #1) and they led the league (by a wide margin) in blocked shots. In other words, losing Bogut and Ezeli hasn't hurt them, really. Durant added a lot of blocked shots, McGee has played great for them in limited minutes and Pachulia, while not a rim protector, gives them a lot of what Bogut did on offense (smart screens and passes) while being a solid positional defender. Maybe their interior defense will let them down in the post-season, but I wouldn't expect it. Green will play more minutes at center in the post-season as rotations tighten a bit. I think if Portland wins 1 or 2 games, they did a great job and, either way, we should be very encouraged about next season. They looked like a different team with Nurkic.
This is the real rub. I still respect the hell out of the Spurs, but I DO NOT want Aldridge to ever taste success. OTOH, Durant is a cocksock and I don't want him to win a championship. But I suppose I would put a mental asterisk next to a GSW championship this season, so I could more easily live with that than SAS outright earning a championship with Aldridge on the roster. I'm just REALLY hoping that CLE kicks it into gear and snuffs GSW again. I'd prefer BOS to win it all, but I think CLE has a much better chance at beating GSW.
I think the Spurs, Cavs, and Celtics have a solid shot at beating them. But I unfortunately don't think they will.
I'm starting to become convinced of my agedness (a term I'm using to refer to reflecting the stereotypical characteristics of getting older) the more I think about the playoffs. Rather than being able to find a non-Blazer team to root for, all I can see is reasons to despise the other playoff teams. GSW (Green), SAS (Aldridge), HOU (Harden), LAC (Doc), UTA (none), OKC (Russ), MEM (Parsons). I guess I'm rooting for the Jazz this year, and someone, anyone from the East.
I dunno if it's "agedness", or that there are just more undeserving players in the league right now. There are just SO MANY players/coaches that are spread across so many PO teams, that it's hard to find an unsullied team to pull for...especially one that has a chance to knock off all the other teams with hateable personnel.
