This offseason, we at Gino's Jungle would like to think we have covered everything from A to Z when it comes to the Boston Celtics. With the regular season tip-off quickly approaching we decided it was time to take a look at the enemies. For the next five weeks we will be giving you the down low on all thirty teams in the NBA. We'll be doing this somewhat in conjunction with Celtics Blog's NBA team previews.
Team Name: Golden State Warriors
Last Year's Record: 26-56
What did they do this offseason?
Another day, and another California team to get to know. There were quite a few moves made by the Warriors this offseason, with the biggest being the most recent news of head coach Don Nelson leaving the team. Last season, Nelson broke the record for most wins EVER by an NBA head coach, and one season later he's leaving the team. Whether or not Nelson will return to coaching duties is unknown, but the one thing that is for certain is that Mr. Nelson will go down as one of the best coaches in NBA history.
As far as the roster goes, the biggest move made by the Warriors was bringing in the "overrated/underrated" David Lee. Lee is one of those guys that stirs up a lot of debate about whether or not he is "that good", "good", "underated", or "overrated". Is he an all-star? Is he a number one option for his team? Or, is he just a solid starter? That's up for you to decide but, regardless, the Warriors made a good move by adding him to their roster.
Other moves made this offseason by the Warriors included the acquisitions of Dorell Wright, Dan Gadzuric, Charlie Bell, Rodney Carnery, and Northeastern product Jeremy Lin. They also added Ekpe Udoh with the sixth pick in the NBA Draft.
During the same time they were adding players, the Warriors were also losing players. And good players at that. This offseason the Warriors let go of five players that were on last seasons roster including Celtics killer Corey Maggette, NBA champion Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azibuke, and Anthony Morrrow.
What will they be good at? Bad at?
Good: From what I can see, the Warriors roster is going to be full of hard workers. Starting right at the top with David Lee, working all the way down to Jeremy Lin, who earned a roster spot after tremendous play in Summer League action.
Good: Three point shooting. Just like last season, the Warriors could end up being scary from behind the arc. The duo of gold medalist Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis could prove to be deadly on certain nights. If those two heat up on any given night they could end up stealing games from teams they're not supposed to be beating.
Bad: Defense. There seems to be a trend starting here in the Western Conference when it comes to defense. The truth of the matter is, outside of the Lakers there's a lack of defensive toughness in the West. The Warriors may be the best example of this after giving up 112.4 points per game last season and registering a defensive rating of 117.1 (29th out of 30th in the NBA).
Bad: Turnovers. I'm not going to lie, I stole this one from Golden State of Mind's season preview. After seing the picture of the apple turnover and the quote, "It's not a healthy breakfast and it's not healthy for the Warriors win total", I couldn't help but mention the Warriors nack for turning the ball over. If the Warriors are attempting to shock the world this season they'll have to throw some "stickum" on their hands and hold onto the basketball.
What should we expect from the Warriors this season?
Like a lot of teams at the bottom of the Western Conference, the Warriors have a chance of making the playoffs this season if everything goes right. If Monta Ellis can have a scoring season like he had last season, in addition to Stephen Curry and David Lee playing at high levels, there's no doubt in my mind they are a top ten team in the West. Only time will tell if there a good enough team to actually be one of the top eight teams.
The Expert's Take: (Golden State of Mind on goals for this year’s squad)
Continue to improve the roster through creative trades like the David Lee one. The Warriors are much closer than they were the previous two years. Just a few more good moves and in-house improvements will do it.
Make a push for the playoffs. The bottom of the West is slowly crumbling. It's a new decade and this shouldn't continue to be the Western Conference of old.
Defense. Play some for a change.
Final Prediction: 39-42 (10th in Western Conference)
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