NBA: 5 teams in desperate need of a hot start to the 2021-22 season

NBA teams in desperate need of a hot start: 4. Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are blessed with a patient superstar who loves playing in his city, and who has won more there in his career than most other players have in NBA history. While some players put an excess of pressure on their organizations to build a winner around them, Stephen Curry has had a measured and reasonable approach even last year when they had a disappointing start to the season.

Still, good vibes only get you so far in the NBA and the Warriors may be counting too heavily on Klay Thompson’s healthy return to get them back to the promised land. If the Warriors get off to a slow start next season in what they expect to be a bounce-back campaign, there may be tough questions to address because Curry’s championship window grows smaller by the day.

NBA teams in desperate need of a hot start: 3. Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t do much right this offseason. They fired head coach Terry Stotts, general manager Neil Olshey launched him under the bus on the way out by blaming him for their underachievement. Then the Blazers hired Chauncey Billups as their head coach, igniting a firestorm of criticism and upsetting Damian Lillard, who is probably still upset but not enough to demand a trade.

Yet.

Lillard probably won’t demand a trade publicly, given his public image and the narrative around his loyalty to one organization, but at a certain point the stagnation of his Blazers may grow old for him. Combined with the lost good vibes after acrimony between him and fans thanks to the Billups ordeal, there may be back-channels exercised to get him out of Dodge if the Blazers get off to a poor start.