The Golden State Warriors have Stephen Curry back, but many don’t believe they have enough to truly contend for a championship. They are still the Warriors though, so they could surprise people.
The Golden State Warriors were terrible last season a year after losing in the NBA Finals to the Toronto Raptors. Injuries ruined their year and allowed them to get the #2 pick in the draft.
This year hasn’t started great, as Klay Thompson is already out for the year for a second consecutive season due to a torn Achilles. His absence has made experts doubt the Warriors’ chances of making any type of deep run in the playoffs.
But it’s 2020 so let’s get bold. Here are a few predictions on what we’ll see from Golden State this coming season.
1. Steph will win MVP
Curry isn’t really himself without Thompson, but if there’s an opportunity for him to win MVP again, it’s this year. He is clearly going to have to put the team on his back if they want to reach the playoffs and get past the first round.
Curry hasn’t averaged less than 20 points since the 2011-2012 season and without Thompson on the floor, Curry will have the ball in his hands a lot more which will give him more opportunities to score more points every night. I don’t believe he’ll actually win the MVP award, but he does have a better chance to win it due to Thompson’s injury and a less talented supporting cast around him compared to previous years.
Some of his competitors probably won’t be on the court much at the beginning of the season due to the shortened offseason after the playoffs being delayed due to COVID-19. LeBron James and Anthony Davis didn’t play in the first two Lakers preseason games and Kawhi Leonard is the king of load management.
2. James Wiseman makes a run at Rookie of the Year
Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and Obi Toppin are probably the names you think of when trying to predict who is going to win the Rookie of the Year this season, but Wiseman should be in a good position to have a case at the end of the season.
Edwards isn’t on a contending team in Minnesota, Ball could be overshadowed by Gordon Hayward and also isn’t on a contender, and Toppin isn’t even starting right now.
Wiseman should start at center and get a lot of playing time alongside a great group of starters. He is ready to get after it this season. “I just had so much energy,” the 19-year-old rookie said after one of his first practices. “Because I just couldn’t wait to play. I was just out there talking, giving my full energy to my team … it was crazy, though. The first practice was really crazy, but I learned a lot from my vets.”
3. Warriors get at least the 7-seed
For some reason, people are really down on the Warriors this year. Losing Thompson hurts but they still have a former Defensive Player of the Year (Draymond Green), the #2 overall pick (Wiseman), a former #1 overall pick (Andrew Wiggins), and the best shooter in NBA history (Curry) on their team this year.
Golden State is still more talented than fringe teams such as the Kings, Jazz, Rockets, and Pelicans so why can’t they be good enough to get the seventh seed in the Western Conference?
I see at least 20 wins in the first half of their schedule and if they get another 20 wins in the second half of the regular season, they should be able to make the playoffs at 40-32. That’s about a .555 win percentage which would’ve put Golden State as the eighth seed last year.
But it’s important to consider that some of the teams that made the playoffs last year aren’t expected to do so this year. Oklahoma City traded away their best player (Chris Paul) to Phoenix; Kristaps Porzingis isn’t healthy to start the season for Dallas; the Rockets season is being overshadowed by James Harden wanting out.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have obviously gotten back all but one of their star players, so we could see them go from last place in the West last year to a top-8 seed.
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