They sat out the theatrics last season, but the Golden State Warriors are ready to re-establish themselves in the entertaining matchups we have yet to see.
The Golden State Warriors participated in the 2019-20 season but were hardly the team the rest of the NBA had come to know and fear.
Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston were gone. Klay Thompson missed the entire year after his torn ACL. Stephen Curry was absent for all but five games after suffering a broken left hand early in the year. The league’s worst record followed.
Before this one-off season, every game the three years prior was Golden State’s to lose. They were just too good, having reached a level of dominance that removed a good chunk of the anticipation from what would otherwise be some of the most highly anticipated matchups of the year.
That sense of inevitability is no longer present. It walked out the door when KD did. In its place still remains a likely top-four team, even out west, that should believe in its abilities to once again represent the conference in the NBA Finals. But they’re hardly the same juggernaut that claimed consecutive titles in unrelenting fashion.
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And while the Warriors spent this past season recharging, others could be found loading up or on the rise. New contenders emerged while other threats develop at a rapid pace.
We didn’t get to see what those shrunken margins meant for a Dubs team finally having to acknowledge its vulnerabilities, if only slightly. We weren’t able to witness the shots other teams would have the opportunity to legitimately land.
Those games will begin soon enough, starting on Dec. 22. Here are five that should get the juices flowing considering the theatrics they are sure to bring.
5. Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets couldn’t topple the Warriors in the early stages of their dynasty. Houston came up just short after the insertion of KD. They had a prime opportunity to sneak past Golden State once Durant went down in the 2019 playoffs, only to allow Curry to drop 33 second-half points on their home court in an elimination game.
Houston has fallen victim to the Dubs in four of the last six postseasons. What exactly is now supposed to indicate a changing of the guard?
No team has defended Golden State quite like the Rockets in recent years because, thanks to P.J. Tucker, Houston is the only team that can remain sound in a battle of small ball.
Only now, after the Warriors ushered in the small-ball era, Houston has pushed the experiment to its breaking point. They’ve committed to its ideologies on a full-time basis, abandoning seven-footers and shooting more triples than ever. Despite a change in head coach and general manager, those philosophies aren’t likely to die out anytime soon.
Curry and James Harden are the two most influential guards of this era, engines to their respective offenses and half of two of the league’s most potent backcourt. Klay Thompson gets to reassume the challenge of guarding the reigning three-time scoring champion. Russell Westbrook might be sporting a new jersey. His disdain for the Dubs remains as strong as ever.
All of these miniature individual battles will take place with the ultimate viewing pleasure coming from getting to see if the student can finally overcome the master.