Golden State Warriors: 2018-19 NBA season preview
Best-case scenario
For a team coming off consecutive championship retaining its core, with top-tier stars still in their primes, the best-case scenario for the Warriors is quite simply to walk away with their third straight Larry O’Brien trophy at season’s end.
However, as all-time great as Golden State has proven to be over the years, it could do far more than simply winning the championship.
For starters, smoothly integrating DeMarcus Cousins would make a run at the title that much easier, giving coach Steve Kerr a dominant low-post presence he’s never had who can also pick apart defenses with his underrated passing abilities.
Next, the Dubs could look to once again re-write history. In 2017, they went an astonishing 17-1 in the postseason en route to the chip. The road to a perfect record will certainly be tougher than that dominating run, but such an achievement could be exactly what the players need to stay motivated throughout the playoff grind, and therefore something they seek out.
Worst-case scenario
Greatness comes at a price, and for the Warriors, it comes in the form of unrelenting pressure to win the title, with anything less considered a tremendous failure.
After Golden State added Kevin Durant, other organizations have slowly done their part to catch up in the talent department, and now there are just a few with an outside shot at taking down the kings of the NBA.
Suddenly, it’s not quite the guarantee it once was to peg the Dubs as NBA champions, with some teams needing a certain level of respect. Having said that, nothing would set the league on fire quite like a massive second round upset, specifically at the hands of either the Oklahoma City Thunder or Los Angeles Lakers.
To lose to one of LeBron James or Russell Westbrook would be an ultimate case of salt-in-the-wound for Golden State after inflicting so much loss on those two in seasons prior. A defeat like that could also signal the end of their dynasty, as such heartbreaking losses tend to expose the need for change.
The title-or-bust mentality should certainly reside in the Bay Area, but a defeat at the hands of one team isn’t the same as another. Losing to such bitter rivals — at such an early stage — would be a hard pill to swallow for a group built on unbridled confidence and swagger, usually to the detriment of their opponents.