Golden State Warriors Roster 2020 Warriors Roster

2019-2020 Top 3 Warriors Roster Questions

A New Era

Last offseason, we were talking about Demarcus Cousins joining the Warriors to form the modern day superteam in the NBA. However, there’s a bunch of new change in the league with superstars moving everywhere and contending teams being torn to shreds. There will be no more Hampton’s Five lineup that’s been the talk over the past few years and the Warriors are no longer going to look the same.

With KD, Golden State was nearly unstoppable in the 1-3 pick-and-roll game. Durant was the ultimate playmaker who could get a shot over anyone he wanted to. With him out of the picture, it’ll surely be more difficult for everyone else who will have to rely on creating their own shot and effectively using the pick-and-roll with non shooters. Draymond Green will continue to be the same defensive player as he was in the past but it’s questionable whether he can consistently give you double digit points on a nightly basis. Whatever happens, this year will be a new era of basketball in the Bay Area and the entire league.

Is Steph Curry still an MVP candidate?

Not long ago, Steph Curry had a fairly open look at a three pointer than would’ve likely sent the NBA Finals to a Game 7. Instead, his attempt missed and the Toronto Raptors ended up winning their first ever NBA Championship. This season, the Warriors will heavily rely on Curry to regain his MVP form and become the sharpshooter that he once was. He’ll no longer have Durant to help him and will be tasked on carrying the burden of the entire team on his back.

The loss of Klay Thompson this year will also be another hard break for Curry. He’s losing his fellow Splash Bro and replacing him with D’Angelo Russell, a great player who’s yet to show he can produce for a prolonged period. With KD on the team, Curry’s shot attempts and usage fell leading to fewer opportunities with him. This year, all eyes will be on the once 2x MVP who will see himself with significantly more opportunities under coach Steve Kerr. With much more playing time, I expect Curry to go back to MVP form and average nearly 28 points per game. However, the assist and rebound numbers might decrease as well given the lack of shooters surrounding him this year.

Without Klay Thompson, for at least the regular season, where does the scoring come from?

Klay Thompson was one of the most underrated players among all the Warriors last year. If you asked anybody about Golden State, they’d most certainly mention either Durant or Curry and every once a while, Thompson. During his entire tenure with the team, Thompson was an integral part of the team both for his defense and offense. He was a master marksman from the three point range and could occasionally post up on smaller guards. Without him on the roster, where can the Warriors look for other shooters?

The obvious answer he is Curry though you can’t put the load on just him. Newly acquired Russell is also a good option as he’s coming of a career 21.1 points per game season. However, can you really rely on him getting that many points when his next highest season netted him an average of 15.6 points per game. The Golden State will surely have to look for other scorers and will do so in unexpected places. Draymond Green and Kevon Looney will have to step up and take some of the scoring load off the guards. The same goes for Willie Cauley-Stein as the Warriors finally get a center, besides Cousins last year, who can actually pose a shooting threat.