Since Durant chose to leave in 19 years and the "Five Star Warriors" disintegrated - the Warriors not only lost their dominance, but even went from reaching the Finals for five consecutive years to becoming a "playoff spectator" and missing the playoffs for two consecutive years.
In the 19-20 season, Green + Russell (Wiggins) led the team, only to get the bottom record of 15 wins and 50 losses in the league; in the 20-21 season, Curry + Green + Wiggins + Wiseman + Oubre's lineup, but lost to the Lakers and Grizzlies in the playoffs, once again missing the playoffs...
21-22 season: Even with the league's top record, the Warriors are still not optimistic about winning the championship?
In fact, before the start of the new season, given that Thompson's return date is uncertain and the Warriors have not made it to the playoffs for two consecutive years, not many people are optimistic that the Warriors will be able to return to the top six in the West. Most people's view is still that the return of Curry + Thompson will surely make them stand out in the playoffs and get rid of the embarrassment of missing out on the playoffs.
But what people did not expect is that in the new season, under the continuous efforts of Poole, Wiggins, Payton Jr., Damien Lee and others, the Warriors have always maintained the team's record in the top three ranks of the league. Even in the early part of the season, they pushed the sun and occupied the top spot in the league's record list for a long time.
However, although the Warriors achieved the league's top record in the new season, in the eyes of the outside world, compared to the Bucks, Suns, Nets and other championship favorites, they are still not optimistic about winning the championship...
1. The poor performance at the end of the season makes people feel that the Warriors are just a pseudo-strong team. At the end of December last year, the Warriors fell to second place in the West because of Curry's personal performance. Expecting Thompson to return, the Warriors had a chance to return to the league.
But in fact, after Thompson returned, the Warriors could not get back to the state they were in when they won at the beginning of the season. It even played a wave of 5-11 losses in March, so much so that it was taken by the Grizzlies to take the second place in the West.
And it is this wave of poor performance that makes people feel that the overall performance is not stable enough warriors, they are a team that can only "get away with it" in the regular season - maybe they can easily enter the playoffs, and they can easily advance to the second round; but they have a hard time advancing to the Western Conference Finals, or even the Finals...
2, Poole entered the playoffs for the first time, And Thompson's actual state is unknown. In addition to the Warriors' poor record in the second half of the new season, Poole, who averaged 18.6 points, 3.4 boards and 4.0 assists per game, has not yet experienced the baptism of the playoffs; Thompson, who returned in the middle and late part of the season, although he also played a few good games, is still not stable overall.
So before the playoffs begin, it is widely believed that once in the playoffs intensity series, in the face of more targeted and more intense physical defense, Poole will no longer be magical in the regular season, and may eventually not be able to stabilize even 15 points per game.
And Thompson, who has been reimbursed for two consecutive seasons, returns in a state of ups and downs, and has a serious physical decline, is also considered difficult to continue to provide quality defense + stable offense in the playoffs. If Poole + Thompson can't provide a steady offensive firepower in the playoffs, then the Warriors will really have a hard time going far...
3. Curry's personal state fluctuates, and it is difficult to maintain an efficient offensive performance. So far in the new season, Curry has averaged only 25.4 points, 5.3 boards, 6.3 assists per game, 43.7% shooting and 37.5% three-point shooting. From the basic data alone, even if it is lower than last season's 32.0 points, 5.5 boards and 5.8 assists, it is still within the "controllable" range.
The most serious and unstable decline in Curry in the new season is not his rebounding, assists, steals, etc., but his scoring efficiency. You should know that while Curry scored 32.0 points last season, he had an offensive efficiency of 48.2% shooting and 42.1% three-point shooting.
It is also because Curry's offensive efficiency continues to decline and become no longer as stable as before, which affects the perception of them from the outside world, and it is difficult for Curry, who believes that the decline in offensive efficiency, it is difficult to lead the Warriors to make a difference in the playoffs.
Warriors vs Nuggets: "Splash Tea" joins forces to break the doubts and easily pinch Jokic
I thought that not having enough inside strength would make it difficult for the Warriors to easily qualify in the playoffs. After all, the Nuggets have an MVP-level interior like Jokic in the first round of the playoffs, and even they have a 48-win record in the regular season, which is not far from the actual gap with the Warriors.
It's just that in the first two series of warriors vs nuggets, the nuggets were easily "pinched" by the warriors. The Warriors first relied on the "Splash Tea" combination to power on the offensive end: Curry - G1:13 shooting 5, 16 points, 3 boards and 4 assists; G2:17 shooting 12, 34 points, 3 boards and 4 assists. Thompson – G1:15 shot 7, 19 points, 3 boards and 2 assists; G2:19 shot 9, 21 points, 2 boards and 1 assist.
Poole – G1:13 shooting 9,30 points, 1 board, 3 assists; G2:10 shooting 5,29 points, 5 boards and 8 assists of offensive firepower, suppressing the Nuggets on the offensive end. Then, with Wiggins, Green and other defensive forces, he took turns to increase the defensive strength of Jokic, and tried to cut off his connection with his teammates...
In the final two games, Jokic only got it - 12 of 25 shots, 25 points, 10 boards and 6 assists; 9 of 20 shots, 26 points, 11 boards and 4 assists; his scoring efficiency and assists, compared to the average data of the regular season, have seen a big decline. Coupled with the absence of the team's second and third figures, Murray and Porter Jr., the Nuggets are simply unable to fight the Warriors on the offensive and defensive ends...
As long as the "splash tea" can maintain its state, this year the Warriors can win the championship again?
Judging from the current situation of the Warriors vs Nuggets, their promotion to the second round is already a foregone conclusion. Whether it is the Grizzlies or timber wolves in the second round, in fact, as long as the "splash tea" can maintain its state, the Warriors do not have too many problems in advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
There are even some fans who "boldly predict" that as long as "splash tea" can maintain its status this year, the Warriors can win the championship again. However, in my personal opinion, whether the Warriors West finals against the Suns, or the Finals against the Bucks and other championship-winning hot teams, with the strength they are currently showing, with the offensive firepower of the "Splash Tea" combination, at most, they can only fight 4-6.
Because Curry, Thompson, Poole three major defenders will always be limited, there will always be a bad feel, not to mention whether it is the Sun, or the Bucks, they have the existence of the Warriors "can not defend", offensive and defensive ends can not be allowed by the Warriors to "pinch". So the key to the Warriors' championship this year, in fact, in addition to the "splash tea" combination to maintain the state, whether Wiggins can break out on the offensive end is their real advantage.
Only when Wiggins "exploded" like Iguodala in the past, this year's Warriors really have the strength to compete with any team. But from the perspective of the last two games, Wiggins is still in a "healthy state" - 6 of 11 shots, 16 points, 9 boards and 2 assists; 9 shots 5, 13 points, 8 boards and 2 assists...