5 Bold Predictions for the Golden State Warriors During the 2014-15 Season
The Golden State Warriors made the most out of their offseason, improving weak spots on their roster and upgrading their coaching staff. Coming off a 51-win season, the Warriors are looking to take the final step toward true contender status.
Winning in the West is no easy feat, however, and as the Warriors will surely find out, it takes more than a collection of stars to make a great team.
We could always take the safe route and say that they’re probably a year or two away. After all, with a new coach and a young core, that could be true.
What fun is that, though?
No, we don’t play it safe here, and much like the Warriors, it’s time to take some deep shots. Whether it's a shake-up in the lineup or one in the standings, one thing is for certain: These aren’t the same old Warriors.
It’s bold-prediction time.
5. David Lee Will Be the Leader of the Second Unit
1 of 5
Steve Kerr has mused about possibly bringing Andre Iguodala off the bench to bring more balance to his lineups. He has the right idea, but if balance is what he seeks, David Lee should lead the second unit.
Lee is an elite offensive talent in the NBA, a player with the ability to put a team on his back. You don’t need to run an offense when Lee is in the game. Simply dump the ball into the block and let him go to work.
With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson leading the starting unit, that option is not nearly as enticing. Taking the ball out of the hands of your two best players in order to implement Lee generally can’t be considered a recipe for success. With the reserves, however? He can make the most of his touches.
The improvement of the Warriors bench would ensure that Lee can’t be double-teamed every time he gets the ball. Flanked by Harrison Barnes, Shaun Livingston and Brandon Rush, he will have players around him who can make defenses pay. With passing skills that rival his scoring, Lee is the perfect option to run an offense around.
4. Klay Thompson Will Lead the NBA in Three-Point Shots
2 of 5No, Stephen Curry is not going to miss the entire season. Yes, Curry is still the best player on this team. It will be Klay Thompson, however, who leads the Association in triples by season's end.
Curry will make another leap this season. Under the tutelage of Steve Kerr, he will evolve into a complete point guard, getting his but helping his teammates get even more. The main beneficiary of this will be none other than Thompson.
In a small sample size, Thompson appears to have made huge strides in the offseason. We saw it in the FIBA World Cup, where he was the second-leading scorer behind only James Harden. Now we’re seeing it again in the preseason, where he is leading the Warriors in scoring and shooting the ball at a scorching rate—51 percent from the field and 56 percent from beyond the arc.
Another area he’s leading the team? Three-point shots made. He’s averaging three per game so far, a number that trumps the 2.8 from last season. The scary part is that he’s doing it in just 25 minutes per game. With Curry demanding a double-team any time he touches the rock, Thomson will have a lot of open looks.
Based on the early indications, he’s going to make most of them.
3. The Warriors Will Earn the Second Seed in the West
3 of 5
The title reads bold predictions. It doesn’t get any bolder than this. The Golden State Warriors will enter the postseason as the second seed in the Western Conference.
Before the injury to Kevin Durant, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder stood as the consensus one-two in the West. With Durant sidelined for multiple weeks with a broken foot, however, the door has been left wide open for another team to step up.
The two most likely teams are the Warriors and their in-state rivals from the south, the Los Angeles Clippers. I'm taking nothing away from the Clippers, who won the Pacific Division and knocked the Warriors out of the playoffs last season. The Warriors, as presently constructed, are the better team.
Last season, the biggest gap between the two teams was at head coach, where Doc Rivers versus Mark Jackson was the equivalent of David versus Goliath, minus a slingshot. With Kerr replacing Jackson, that gap has closed considerably, mainly on the fact that the Warriors are replacing nothing with something (credit to Stephen A. Smith for the line).
Obviously, health will be the ultimate factor in determining which team emerges victorious, and with Andrew Bogut missing so many games over the last few season, there is never a guarantee that the Warriors will make it through the season unscathed.
If they do, though, watch out. This team will be hosting a playoff series in the first round.
2. The Warriors Will Be a Top-5 Offensive and Defensive Team
4 of 5
The Warriors are actually closer to achieving this then most people might think. While many expected them to put a premium on offense last season and simply outscore the opposition every game, the opposite happened.
The Warriors became the most unexpected defensive juggernaut in the league.
While they placed only 10th in the league in opponent points per game at 99.5, that was good for third in the Western Conference, behind only the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs. Considering that the former lives by their defense and the latter are the defending champs, that’s some good company.
Looking even deeper, the Warriors ranked fourth in the league in opponent field-goal percentage, rebounding and point differential. If Mark Jackson did anything, it was instill a defensive mentality that had been absent for years.
With the defense already in elite territory, it will be up to the offense to hold up its end of the bargain. If the preseason is any indication, the Warriors are well on their way. They have failed to reach at least 100 points in just one of seven games, and with Kerr at the helm, everything appears to be in sync.
With the additions of Shaun Livingston and Brandon Rush to the bench unit, the Warriors are sure to improve on their 104.3 points from last season. Considering that was actually good for 10th in the league, seeing them move up the ladder is not out of the realm of possibility.
1. Steve Kerr Will Win Coach of the Year in His Debut Season
5 of 5
This will be highly dependent on some of the other predictions actually being correct. We’ve already gone out on a pretty far limb, though, so what’s one more?
It’s not always the best coach who wins this award, but rather the one who moved the needle the most during the season. We’ve seen Gregg Popovich win the award for his sheer brilliance three different times. We saw George Karl win the award when his team improved after trading its superstar. And we saw Mike Brown win for simply having LeBron James on his roster.
Steve Kerr has the opportunity to make the most noise this season.
Unlike many new coaches, Kerr isn’t taking over a team in shambles. It’s one that has been knocking on the door of contention for a few years now. Turning a good team into a great one is a difficult feat, however, and winning over a locker room that strongly supported the former coach will also take a Herculean effort.
The type of effort that earns headlines, moves the needle and, most importantly, wins games.
While Kerr may not have a shred of coaching experience, he has had the luxury of playing alongside and for some of the greatest names in the history of sports. He played under the tutelage of Phil Jackson and Popovich. He spread the floor for Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan.
Kerr has promised to use his past experiences and mold his own coaching style out of it. He will demand Popovich’s ball movement and spacing. He will incorporate aspects of Jackson’s triangle offense. He will shape Curry into a true leader like Duncan and Jordan.
He will get everything he can out of his team.
Kerr will be learning the coaching game on the fly, but he was fortunate enough to inherit dynamic pieces. With the help of top assistant coaches like Alvin Gentry and a rising group of stars, he has all the makings of a Coach of the Year candidate.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
