Ladies and gentleman, your Golden State Warriors…are getting eclipsed by the 2010 Giants. And eight of nine ESPN experts predict as bad or worse a finish as last year. If the vast majority of NBA writers are correct, the Warriors offseason was a futile peddling of the hamster wheel.
This is a battle between what the stats claim and what feels right. Numbers love the Dubs, but defense often toils in a statistical blind spot. So, what say you, how feel you? As the Warriors gear up to face the Rockets, as Scola’s hair shapes into a smirk at the thought of David Lee, as Kevin Martin practices Monta-foiling flops, what will we see from the new-look team?
My foresight: The Warriors win, thanks to a Houston back-to-back. I guessed 43 wins at season’s start, a prediction that could easily turn whenever Curry’s ankle bends.
The experts traditionally base their predictions on previous season, and that’s true across most sports. I figure it’s a combination of taking a risk and turning out wrong (thus weakening the title of “expert”) and the tough task of fitting all the new pieces together.
My job isn’t on the line like those yahoos at espn, so I’ll go out on a limb and say the Warriors win 52 games. Playing only 7 deep due to a lack of bench, they get off to a fast start with a team-oriented offense. The rumors are true and they share the ball as advertised, carried by a strong starting 5 into January. The debut of Lou and Ekpe add a punch of energy midseason. And the trade deadline returns stud player X to help bolster the roster, leading to the 50 win mark. The defense is chippy enough all season to win games, with D Wright and Ellis locking down top wing scorers game to game.
Tim Legler craps his pants on national tv by mid December.
Golden State gets a win to debut their new uniforms.
Mark me down for 41 wins. The team is on the right trajectory, but this season they will have to deal with road woes, a fairly weak bench, and the blight of injuries.
The starting unit will give fans a lot to cheer about this season. It’s going to be a fun season.