3. Defending a championship is tough
While plenty of teams have won back-to-back championships, it sure isn’t easy. Being the defending champion means that everyone wants to take you down. Everyone is looking for you to fall so that they can take your place atop the mountain.
The Warriors over the last few weeks of the regular season began getting everyone’s best and they started to show that they can beat if teams get physical with them. In the playoffs, it’s all about physicality and the Warriors, who can be just as physical, have to be the aggressor.
They can’t sit back and let the other competition come to them. They have to storm in and take the fight to their opponents, otherwise they will leave themselves vulnerable to another team stealing a win at the Oracle Arena and taking home-court advantage with them.
Plenty of defending champions have fallen trying to defend their crown before. The Warriors are going to have to bring that same hunger that they had last year when they were trying to win a title.
Essentially they have to be prepared to not get the calls they’re used to and get prepared for another team’s best punch.
Next: 2. Gregg Popovich