Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Repeating In 2015-16

1. Avoiding The Disease Of More

Of course, none of this matters if the Golden State Warriors get complacent and lose their hunger by falling into the “Disease of More.” Last year was a magical season for the Warriors. Their star won MVP, they won 67 games and they captured the franchise’s first title in 40 years. It’d be easy to not come out properly motivated and want more as individuals.

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Curry and Thompson are always going to get their shots, but what of Harrison Barnes, a talented young wing who might thrive in an expanded role on another team and turned down a four-year, $64 million extension?

What about Draymond Green, who has officially arrived and is the team’s second highest paid player? And that’s without even mentioning the sacrificial role Andre Iguodala has accepted.

There are only so many shots to go around, which means this team needs to preserve its winning formula from last year. Green can’t lose his motivation on defense and expect things to be handed to him now that he’s gotten paid. Curry and Thompson need to remain focused to continue improving. Barnes needs to be content with his lesser role.

The Disease of More has derailed many a title contender in the past, but I don’t see it happening to the Warriors. This is a cohesive, tightly knit team that understands sacrifices have to be made to win. They’re close on and off the court, Bogut has said he’s willing to take on a lesser role, and this smart group of players seems to have an idea how hard this title defense will be:

With a title and an MVP award, Curry hasn’t stopped working to improve his game, and the rest of his teammates will follow suit as Steph leads by example.

But what’s really scary is the Dubs are still mostly young and didn’t even play all that well in the playoffs en route to the championship. They won’t have those jitters if they make it back to the Finals, so if they remain motivated, are comfortable with their roles and improve on their postseason play, they’ll be on the right path to repeat.

Next: NBA: Top 10 Candidates For 2015-16 Defensive Player Of The Year

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