Everyone believes that the Golden State Warriors road to title number four is paved in gold; but, will it really be that easy?
Ask almost anyone, and they’ll tell you that it is a foregone conclusion — that the Golden State Warriors road to their fourth title in five years is paved with gold.
It’s pretty obvious to see why many fans think that.
The Warriors had, quite possibly, the steal of the offseason when they convinced DeMarcus Cousins, the second best center in the game behind Anthony Davis, to go ring chasing in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Cousins joins a team that is fully-loaded at every position. Their starting lineup of Cousins, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry (once Cousins returns), is one of the best starting five units of all-time. While many will pay attention to Golden State’s star-power laden starting unit, no one should overlook the bench either.
This team, literally, has no weaknesses, and when judging the Warriors by their lineup alone, it will be understandable for someone to look at the NBA landscape and think to themselves; “Yep, just give Golden State their rings right now.”
However, the road to the fourth championship in five seasons — and the first three-peat since the Los Angeles Lakers did it in the early 2000s — is not as easy as it may seem.
The Western Conference got a whole lot more interesting when LeBron James, fresh off of dragging the inferior Cleveland Cavaliers to their fourth-straight Finals birth, decided to take his talents to the Lakers, and help GM Magic Johnson re-establish the famed Laker Mystique.
His presence, alone, will make their battles with the Warriors primetime television, and Golden State knows full well just how much damage King James can do to them. With LeBron in tow, the Lakers have an outside chance of seeing Golden State in the Western Conference Finals, and from there, all bets are truly off.
Outside of Hollywood, there will be other challengers for the Warriors’ throne, with the Houston Rockets leading the pack.
The Rockets are especially dangerous to the Warriors because they will be playing the 2018-19 season with revenge in their hearts. Just like the 2014 San Antonio Spurs, the Rockets are looking to show the league that it should have been them, not the Warriors, raising a championship banner to open the season, and they may actually have a point.
Before Chris Paul injured his ankle at the end of Game 5, Houston’s game plan was clearly frustrating the Warriors; and, even without him in Game 6, the Rockets had a commanding lead and a chance to put a nail in the coffin of the Warriors Dynasty.
Houston seemed to have the answer the Warriors high powered offense, but alas, the Warriors turned it on, and with the help of a historic choke-job from 3-point land in Game 7, the Warriors went on to the Finals to sweep LeBron and the Cavs.
But while Golden State did win the series, it was clear that the Rockets were the better team, especially inside, which necessitated their need to go after Cousins, who wasn’t going to re-up with the New Orleans Pelicans, anyway. The Rockets didn’t stand pat, either, with most of their offseason moved made with one goal in mind — to beat the Warriors.
That’s what makes Houston, in my opinion, the greatest threat to the Warriors chances of three-peating this season. The Rockets want revenge, and if the Warriors fall asleep, they may be caught blindsided by a Rockets team that is only seeing red.
The Warriors shouldn’t only pay attention to the West, though. The Eastern Conference, shocking as it may seem, will present its own challenges, specifically in the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics.
The Raptors re-tooled their roster in a big way this offseason, trading away DeMar DeRozan in exchange for Kawhi Leonard. When healthy, Leonard is a top-10 player, and his stellar two-way play, combined with an improved roster, could produce headaches for the Warriors in a Finals series.
The team out East that Golden State should really keep their eyes on is the Celtics, who, like the Warriors, has a roster that is void of weaknesses, and they’re just as deep and talented. Aside from the Rockets, Boston is another team who can match up with the Warriors well over a seven-game series.
So while we ogle and awe at just how loaded the Warriors are, we shouldn’t jump ahead of ourselves and say that Golden State will coast to another championship. There are legit challengers out there.
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