Fansided

How will the Warriors approach the upcoming season with nothing to prove?

By Micah Wimmer

DALLAS, TX - JANUARY 03: (L-R) Stephen Curry #30 and Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors share a laugh during play against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on January 3, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JANUARY 03: (L-R) Stephen Curry #30 and Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors share a laugh during play against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on January 3, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Less than three months before I was due to graduate from college, I flew across the country to visit a graduate school I was interested in. After a few days of meetings and interviews, the school offered me a very generous scholarship. It was, of course, contingent upon my finishing my final semester of undergrad in good standing, but the scholarship offer only made doing so more difficult.

The astronomy class that was incomprehensible, and the physical education class that was literally running me ragged, became even less appealing than before, and I skipped days upon days of class, opting to sleep in and replay old Mario games on my Super Nintendo instead. With the scholarship in hand, I had nothing left to prove, just time to kill.

The last two weeks of the semester, though, I started waking up earlier and staying up later in order to study for final exams. I did not get the best grades of my academic career, but I did well enough. It all worked out and I started grad school in the fall. Basically, I approached the end of undergrad the way most expect the Warriors to approach the upcoming NBA season.

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The Golden State Warriors are presumptive favorites to win the 2019 NBA Championship. They have five All-NBA players on their roster and, at their best, have looked like one of the best teams in league history. Sure, I could tell you reasons why it’s a bit premature to award them the championship already, and why the DeMarcus Cousins signing is likely not as significant as it seems. I could tell you that the games still have to be played and that there’s too many variables to consider the 2019 title already determined. I do believe all those things, but I also believe that it’d be foolish to believe any other team is more likely than Golden State to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season.

If we as fans and analysts believe so firmly in the likelihood of the Warriors winning their fourth title in five years, how much more likely are the players themselves to believe it’s going to happen? It’s truly hard to imagine Draymond Green falling prey to self doubt at this point, you know?

Last year, there was a decent amount of handwringing and faux-concern going around about the Warriors not trying hard enough during the season. And it’s true, they did often appear to be going through the motions, biding their time until the third quarter or the final minutes when they would overwhelm the opposition with a run and that would be that. If that didn’t happen, if they lost, it wasn’t really a big deal, though — there was always the next game, and they’d probably win it.

While other teams may care more about winning home court advantage throughout the Playoffs, the Warriors have less incentive to do so both because of their superior firepower, but also because they now know for a fact that they can win a Game 7 on the road as they did in last season’s Western Conference Finals.

Also, the Warriors’ primary competition from last year, the Houston Rockets, have taken a step back this offseason by losing key wing players in Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, making it less likely that they will be able to provide a formidable challenge to the Warriors this year. Sure, the Celtics and Sixers are supposed to be better, and while that may add some intrigue to the season, that’s not going to make the Warriors care any more about a mid-January game against the Magic. Without really needing home court advantage and with less able competition and with a better team than the year before, what are they really playing for from October through April? They’ve already gone 73-9, after all.

Maybe the Warriors will try to challenge themselves throughout the season, hoping to keep things interesting. Maybe one night, they will collectively agree to shoot exclusively with their off hand, or just mid-range jumpers, or only as the shot clock expires. Perhaps on another, they will just devote their efforts to having Boogie become the seventh player to score 70 points in an NBA game. Kerr has also long had a penchant for odd lineups with too many bigs so maybe he’ll see if the Warriors can win with Jordan Bell at the 2 or something. Now that’d be light years ahead.

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The championship has not yet been won, but it’s easy to convince ourselves that it already has been, and I’m sure the Warriors themselves are not immune to that. Regardless of what strategies are employed, keeping this team engaged and motivated throughout an 82-game season may be Steve Kerr’s toughest task as head coach yet.

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