Last Season: The Warriors hope that last season was one where the decisions the franchise made put the team in position to compete for years to come -- starting now. First year head coach Mark Jackson didn’t have much to work with, and Stephen Curry’s ankle problems that allowed him to play only 26 games didn’t help matters. By making the big trade that sent Monta Ellis out of town in exchange for Andrew Bogut, along with some smaller moves and some decent draft picks, Golden State is poised to show some major improvement if things go as planned.
Key Departures: Monta Ellis was the big one, traded to Milwaukee for injured big man Andrew Bogut. Dorell Wright is also gone, which only is important to mention because he started 61 games for the Warriors last season. Wright’s productivity was down from the previous year, however, and after the team selected Harrison Barnes in the draft, the club realized his services would no longer be needed.
Key Additions: Bogut will be the biggest difference-maker for the Warriors, especially defensively. Rookie Festus Ezeli should also provide help on the defensive front, and Barnes will have a chance to make an immediate impact on both ends of the floor. Jarrett Jack will provide some veteran stability at point guard off the bench, after putting up career numbers last season on a dreadful Hornets team in New Orleans. The Warriors also added Carl Landry, who should be another more than serviceable option off the bench.
Three keys to the Warriors season:
1) One word: Health. It’s the first thing that comes out of every Warriors fan’s mouth when they talk about their team’s outlook for the upcoming season: “Hey, if we can stay healthy ...” But can they? Andrew Bogut doesn’t exactly have a reputation as an iron man, and neither does the team’s young starting point guard, Stephen Curry. Bogut was targeting training camp for his return but he isn’t back yet, and while Curry has looked great early in the preseason, the team is still waiting as long as possible before finalizing a contract extension for him by the Oct. 31 deadline.
2) Defensive improvement in a major way: Mark Jackson wants to coach a team that plays some defense. Whether or not he can get a defensive system in place that his entire team will buy into is another story. Bogut in the middle is a good start, but there’s virtually no one behind him on the bench that can provide what he can while he sits. Maybe that’s Ezeli’s role to fill, and maybe the team can get 10-12 solid minutes a game from him there.
The Warriors are going to put up plenty of points with Curry and Klay Thompson lighting it up from the outside, but whether or not they can commit to defense and improve significantly from the 106 points per 100 possessions they gave up a season ago (only three teams were worse) will go a long way in determining just how much the team will improve in the standings.
3) How good of a coach is Mark Jackson? We have no idea, honestly. A lockout-shortened season and one where the team suffered injury to one of its best players, then made a franchise-altering trade is no way to treat your first-year head coach, not to mention one with absolutely zero prior head coaching experience at any level. If the team stays healthy, we’ll find out fairly quickly if Jackson’s systems and leadership style are indeed elite, and if he can put his stamp on this Warriors team by leading them to or very near the postseason, he’ll have proven that he belongs.
What Warriors fans should fear: See 1), above. The health concerns are so real with this team that it’s worth hitting home a second time.
Prediction: This Warriors team is going to be very tough to deal with offensively, and a third place finish in the division behind the Lakers and Clippers seems like good place to start. The starting five is legit, with David Lee and Richard Jefferson in the mix alongside Curry, Bogut, and Thompson. There’s a ton of depth in the Western Conference, but if everything comes together the way the team is hoping, a run at one of the conference’s final playoff spots is certainly within reach.
