As a Warriors fan I don't think i've ever had more difficulty making predictions for an upcoming nba season, and especially for my Dubs. However even though I don't think the Warriors are a championship contender (far from it to be real), I don't think i've been more excited for an overall NBA season since the the 2019-20 pandemic year. We've got new look teams and multiple contenders, and it seems like this could be a lot of fun. With that being said, here's my thoughts on the Warriors and where I think they stack up.

obviously not going to take too much out of preseason in terms of how we played, but I’m happy we're 4-0. The Warriors have up to 12 "rotational" guys on their roster, which is a good problem to have, especially knowing that Steve Kerr likes to play a lot of guys, just don't know which ones. He intends to go with a 10 man rotation, so it'll be interesting to see who starts. This might be a take, but Moses Moody could end up getting the start on opening night. Brandin Podziemski might be best suited running the bench unit, as his playmaking was relied on much more than I thought it would be. Draymond Green is obviously starting, but with coach kerr saying he wants to reduce his minutes at the 5, Trayce Jackson-Davis should be the guy to start there. He's clearly the better player than Looney. Jonathan Kuminga may have to play the 3 a little more, and considering about 96% of his minutes were at the 4, it could be an adjustment. however he's been looking good and the defense would be better. melton is another guy we could start next to steph due to his defense and shooting. Then you have to factor in Andrew Wiggins, who hasn't played due to illness and off the court stuff. Where does he play? are you expecting him to have a bounce back season? Buddy Hield has made a good impression with his shooting. That’s not even mentioning Gary Payton 2 and Kevon Looney, who didn’t play as much last season but can still fill in on any night.

The Warriors have had some ridiculous 3 point shooting so far in preseason. Which you know, they were 4th in the league in 3 point attempts last season, and about 9 per game were from the now-departured Klay Thompson. Some guys are gonna have to fill in those attempts, the questions are who? Melton? Hield? Moody? Podz? will Kuminga develop into an average shooter? They've also talked about Kyle Anderson at the small ball 5, and he did shoot 41% from 3 2 seaons ago (on very low volume). Not even mentioning Wiggins who they want shooting more. They've been red hot so far, making 28 threes in a win over the kings and made 10 out of their first 11 from beyond the arc in last night's win over detroit. Is that sustainable? I don't think so. But can they rank near the top of the league in volume shooting and top 10 in percentage? that's not too unrealistic.

For the first time in a while Golden State made major changes to the roster. Losing Chris Paul and Klay Thompson, the latter of which still hurts a little and feels awkward, but it's not like we didn't try to replace them. De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson are 3 solid role players who fit well with the rest of the team as it looks like. There's no denying though, that while Klay might've been frustrating and ended his Warriors tenure with arguably his worst game ever, he still leaves a void that needs to be filled. At times he was our second best scorer last season, and still shot almost 40% from 3 on 9 attempts a game. The Warriors as it stands right now, don't have a true #2 option. Kuminga is someone that people have hope for in becoming that guy, but besides him no one else is a true bucket getter. the Warriors do play with a lot of ball movement and unselfish play, but Steph still deals with double teams all the time and has to take more contested shots now that Klay is gone. That's probably the biggest weakness on the team.

So when looking at best and worst case scenarios, I'll say this (this isn't biased btw) Best case would be that the Warriors get leaps in production from Kuminga, Podz, moody, and TJD. Steph doesn't have to be the only bucket getter, Draymond stays out of trouble, and the role players we brought in stay healthy and prove to be upgrades. the Warriors end the season as a top 7 seed in the western conference and make some noise when the playoffs come around. Or they make a consolidation deal in the season which upgrades them.

Worst case: The drama that the team endured last season unfortunately plays over into this season. Draymond Green gets suspended (again) and without him the Warriors get off to a bad start and are forced into a whole that's hard to climb out of. There's still no true second option, not even close. the team deals with injuries and struggles in close games, and finishes as a bottom 3 team in the west due to all of that.

Looking at the west, it's pretty clear we aren't going to be up there with the likes of Oklahoma City, Dallas, Minnesota, or any of the true contenders. however, a play in berth isn't too unrealistic. The Grizzlies had everything go wrong for them last season, and will more than likely improve and return to the playoffs. Houston is a team that everyone sees taking leaps in development, including myself, but can it translate into wins? the Lakers have the same roster but a different coach, who's probably the guy with the most pressure this upcoming season. the Kings made changes which was good, it'll be intriguing to see how DeRozan fits. Clippers did sign some depth but lost PG13, which will hurt. I think the bottom 3 is the Spurs, Jazz, and Trail Blazers. top 6 seed is probably unrealistic for the Warriors, but it's not like we're a "bad" team. despite dray's suspensions, klay getting benched, injuries, and having to play our rookies and weird rotations, they still won 46 games. I think a play in berth isn't really that unrealistic. around the 9-12 range.

Anyways, what are your thoughts on your favorite teams? what do you envision seeing out of them, and what are your hopes and realistic expectations? i'd love to chat with yall because the season starts in a week and I'm very excited to see how the new teams play, especially, Klay on the Mavs.