Golden State Warriors: 2017-18 NBA season preview

Storyline 1: Steph and Klay vs. CP and James vs. Russ and PG

Ever since the 2013 NBA Playoffs in which Mark Jackson‘s Warriors upset the Denver Nuggets and pushed the San Antonio Spurs to six games, Curry and Thompson have been seen as the league’s best backcourt. For the first time in years, they have competition.

On paper, Chris Paul and James Harden are the best. Not just in the league, but of all-time. Paul is considered to be one of the top-five point guards ever (somewhere between John Stockton and Curry), while Harden lands somewhere between Earl Monroe and George Gervin in the 2-guard annals.

That does not mean they will be better on the court than Curry and Thompson, who have developed an uncanny rapport over the years. Part of that relationship is that Thompson always takes the tougher of the two opposing guards, allowing Curry to run the offense on a full tank. This will prove much more difficult against Houston.

Golden State’s most likely counter will be putting Curry on a forward and having Iguodala, Durant and Green take turns on Harden. This will not be sustainable for entire games, however.

Against the Thunder, that type of strategy may not be sustainable at all. If OKC chooses to play Russell Westbrook and Paul George in the backcourt (benching Andre Roberson) with Carmelo Anthony at the 3, Curry will be stuck guarding the 6’10” Patrick Patterson.

In the regular season, this will not matter. The question is what they will do in the playoffs. Curry is not a bad defensive point guard, but he is a point guard all the same, and incapable of guarding quality wings. If this means he has to spend significant time on Paul and Westbrook, what will this do to the Warriors’ defense — and offense, for that matter?