Golden State Warriors: 3 goals for 2020-21 season
By Luke Duffy
Golden State Warriors Goal No. 2: Become offensive juggernauts again
When you think of previous Warriors rosters that went on to win championships, there are a few hallmarks that made them who they were. The “lineup of death” is certainly one, as are the third quarter destructions tours they would go on, usually with that aforementioned lineup. In other words, scoring at a high level was always a given.
It’s not that the Warriors have gotten away from that, and they certainly aren’t slouches defensively either, but rather the rest of the league caught up. Last season the Dallas Mavericks had the highest offensive efficiency in league history (113.7), thanks in large part to Luka Doncic and the other, just as deadly, Curry.
Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and there are plenty of copycats out there trying to do what the Warriors do. That’s all well and good, but Stephen Curry is a true one-of-one in the NBA, and as long as he’s in San Francisco, the Warriors have a chance to be special offensively. Does this mean Curry has to have another MVP level season to become a top three team offensively?
Probably, but as we’ve seen before he is more than capable of that and will surely be eager to make people remember just what he is capable of. Not having Thompson hurts, there’s no way around that. But the introduction of Wiseman, at a time when the league is trending towards being bigger again, means the Warriors can get back to the top of the offensive charts in a different way to how they’ve done it before.
Curry will move with and without the ball, and he will put up a ton of points. Green has to get back to his best years as a 3-point shooter (38 percent in 2016). Wiggins isn’t an ideal complement to these two, but is a career 20-point a night scorer, he just does it in less efficient ways.
How the Warriors will be able to dump the ball into Wiseman and see what he can do as well. Scoring at a high level will not only ensure the Warriors are in the thick of the playoff race, it will also help them rediscover what made them champions in the first place.