Playing this season so far, it can basically be concluded that the Golden State Warriors management failed last summer!
Last season's Warriors had a group of people who yearned for the top of the mountain and gods who sat on the top of the mountain!
At his peak, Curry worked hard to gain muscle and go one step further, eager to prove that Payton and Porter fit seamlessly with the Warriors, plus Poole's growth, Wiseman's reimbursement, and Klay's comeback. Green starts to focus in the playoffs, Wiggins cashes in on talent!
All these factors are intertwined, and finally with the blessing of Curry's personal heroism, the Warriors won the championship magically!
The champion-winning warriors gave the illusion that they were back in that invincible era. But the truth is that the Warriors are very strong, but whether compared to the Warriors when Durant was in the Warriors or the Warriors in the first championship, they are a little worse.
Some pseudo-fans always use the All-Star number to black a team. But regardless of the state, age and other factors, talking about strength is simply playing hooligans. Let's analyze the current situation of the Warriors' championship heroes and see why the Warriors struggled this season.
Klay Thompson:
Clay was injured for two years, and although his performance was okay after his comeback, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Clay could not go back. He's no longer the frightening top 3D of the league. Klay shot 41.7 percent from three-point range in his career and 38.5 percent from three-point range in the playoffs last season. Much lower than career hits. The main thing is that after the big injury, Klay's foot movement is significantly slower, the defense is very difficult against the speed player, and the offensive cut into the box is often blocked or defended because of the decline in speed and bounce. After struggling at the start of the season, Klay has gotten better in recent games, shooting 39 percent from three-point range. However, it will be difficult to play when faced with playoff-level defense and Klay's slower footsteps.
Green:
Green had a mediocre regular season last season, and even struggled a little early in the playoffs. However, Green, who adjusted in time, then found his defense and became a big help for the Warriors to win the championship! However, compared to Green at his peak, the offensive ability has declined significantly, and the defense has also dropped a lot, and the only thing worthy of praise is the familiarity with the Warriors system and first-hand organizational ability. This season, Green has become much calmer because of problems such as conflict with Poole, and the role of the defensive core is no longer prominent. That's one of the reasons the Warriors have been poor defensively this season. The Warriors' salary issue is hard to fix, and Green already has too many accolades and may now be thinking about the future.
Rooney:
Rooney has nothing to say, conscientious, not to mention the talent of the past, Rooney's strength has done the best he can do. But the Warriors inside is difficult to support Rooney alone, as Green slips on the defensive end, Rooney's inside frame and rebounding pressure increases, although he does well, but the Warriors interior is still the biggest shortcoming.
Wiggins:
Wiggins has played with the Warriors, and he genuinely loves the atmosphere of the Warriors. So accepting a salary cut extension is arguably the most correct decision made by Warriors management this offseason! Wiggins is still in his prime, and there's little problem staying in his current form. He is the future of the Warriors, but Wiggins' character is no longer possible to develop into a core leader, but it is definitely a valuable asset for the Warriors.
Poole:
Poole is another example of a low-pick talent for the Warriors. The Warriors are a team that is good at developing low-pick rookies, and Green and Poole are examples of success. Poole successfully played the role of the Warriors' best sixth man last season and contributed to the Warriors' championship victory in the playoffs. The Warriors management offered him a $140 million contract in the offseason, which shows that the Warriors regard him as a future development. Although this contract has the credit for Green's punch. But I think the Warriors management has a high contract. Poole, who wants to go further this season, is struggling, the disadvantages of defense are infinitely magnified, the basic skills of dribbling are poor, there are many mistakes, the shooting selection is not good, and the shooting percentage has dropped significantly. Poole's struggle is also one of the main reasons why the Warriors are currently struggling.
Curry:
Curry's playoffs last season took individual heroism to the extreme. Extremely high hit rate, the library has gravity! And when Green slipped on the defensive end, Curry gained muscle to improve his defensive ability! It used to be a group of defensive titans surrounding Curry. Today's Curry can maintain a very high level on the offensive end, while the defensive end can also help the team a lot! The stronger Curry masks the fact that the rest of the Warriors are slipping.
Role Players:
The Warriors released championship-winning heroes Payton and Porter this season, as well as brother-in-law Lee, and Belitza returned to Europe as planned. These guys were the main replacements in the Warriors' rotation last season. Although the arrival of DiVincenzo somewhat compensated for the loss of Peyton Jr. But signing Jamekauglin was a basic failure. Coupled with the fact that Kuminga and Moody's growth has not met expectations, Wiseman has made the Warriors' interior even worse. Although the two two-way players of Lamb and Jerome are doing well, it is difficult to have the role of Payton and Porter and Belitza on the playoff stage. Iguodala is a year older, and his basic role on the field can be ignored, and he plays the role of a dressing room leader. Don't expect this year's rookies, after all, talent is limited and needs to be cultivated.
Coaching Staff:
The reason why dynasty teams are not easy to continue is that the glowing gold is always remembered. The Warriors have not been able to retain assistant coach Mike Brown since winning the championship, which is one of the reasons for the Warriors' defensive decline this season. Losing Brown, it now seems that the loss is relatively large.
Management:
The Warriors' current struggles have a lot to do with management's series of tumultuous maneuvers. The management of the Warriors is also difficult, but the professional team should deal with such problems. Management released Brown in the offseason, because of salary problems, let go of Payton, Porter, Lee and other championship heroes. Payton's departure has made the outside defense decline, and although DiVincenzo's defense is also very aggressive, his physical condition is a little worse than Payton's, and the fast attack threat is not as good as Payton's. And Li, brother-in-law who went to the sun, also played a value.
The reason why Warriors management let go of these important role players was not only salary, but also overly optimistic about the growth expectations of rookies, which led to miscalculations. Kuminga and Moody's are growing slowly, and Wiseman now looks very likely to need water! Warriors management insisted on selecting Wiseman without listening to Kerr's advice that year, and may have missed the continuation of the dynasty.
Warriors management did not handle the issue of player renewals, Green and Thompson are facing contract extensions next season, and the Warriors' salary explosion in these two seasons is indeed not easy. However, Poole's maximum salary extension directly locked in the possibility that both Green and Thompson would remain. Contradictions between the new and the old gradually surfaced, cracks appeared, which naturally affected the team. However, the Warriors' previous successes have left owners and management overconfident, wanting the present as well as the future. But there is no precedent for such success in the history of the league, and the Warriors want to set a precedent. However, from now on, there is a high probability that you will be slapped in the face, and finally end up empty-handed.
To sum up, the Warriors have a lot of problems this season. It is mainly the decision-making of the management, the renewal of the heroes, the contradiction between the development of young players and the record. Management's thinking and handling put this warrior on the brink of a storm. If you don't get it right, the Warriors will directly disintegrate next season. That familiar warrior may have seen one less game.
To put it bluntly, if it weren't for Curry's existence, this Warriors would have disintegrated long ago!