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Writer's pictureTrevor Caruso

SAN FRANCISCO BAY BLUES: IS THIS REALLY IT FOR WARRIORS?

The most notable dynasty of the modern day NBA (outside of LeBron James' one man dynasty) is undoubtedly the Golden State Warriors. 4 titles spanning from 2015-2022 is quite the feat. Assembling some of the greatest basketball rosters the world has ever seen, sweeping playoffs and Finals series, the Golden State Warriors were truly something special.


The 2023 postseason treated us to yet another LeBron James v. Steph Curry showdown and it certainly lived up to the hype. After Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead, the series switch back to Golden State with a blowout win over LA in game 2. The lakers rattled off 2 straight for a 3-1 lead, and LeBron James was not going to take a page out of Steph's handbook, and blow such a lead. The Lakers closed the series out 4-2, with a masterclass from LeBron James. The waking moments following the series collapse left question marks everywhere. Are the Warriors officially done?


Now this sentence has been uttered before but to fully understand why, we have to back track a couple of years.


It was after the 2021 season when it was pretty much a done deal to everyone (outside Warrior fans) that the dynasty was over and done with. The Warriors had failed to make the playoffs two years in a row, and the team looked battered and depleted. Stephen Curry had other plans. As we all know, during the 2022 season, Steph ripped off one of there greatest post-season tears the league has ever seen and capped it off with an unbelievable NBA finals, awarding him with his first Finals MVP trophy. Just like that, the Warriors are back on their dominance. The following year they begin the season as one of the Vegas favorites to win the title and go back to back.


LeBron and the Lakers broke that dream up and now we have arrived nearly to the 20 game mark of this season and things are not looking great. The Warriors are sitting at 11th in the west with a 8-10 record. It's even uglier than it sounds, though. Golden State has now lost 8 of their last 10 games, and most recently blowing a 24 point lead to the Kings during the group play stage of the NBA in season tournament.


There are many fingers pointing in all sorts of directions, but what really is the problem?


To me, it's Father Time. Klay Thompson, once an unstoppable spot up sniper of a shooter, is now a shell of himself. Shooting the three ball at a pedestrian 36% Not only that, Klay has not shown even a slight edge on the defensive side of the ball, proving his lateral quickness to be diminished along with his shooting. Age comes for us all. Some people will try and find new ways to make an impact on the floor, and some people will throw that all out the window and just play reckless. Draymond Green, who was never the most athletic player on the floor, is now trying to cope with his aging career by tackling, shoving, and pushing people. Quite the effective tactic. The only player who is still playing on the same level as the title days is Steph Curry. Outside of him, it's been bad. Oh, and the addition of 38 year old Chris Paul? Yeah, he's hurt already. The promising, young Andrew Wiggins has also experienced regression. His point totals are down from 17ppg --> 12ppg, and he's been uninterested in grabbing rebounds.


There really shouldn't be any question marks around this team. They are exactly who we are seeing on the floor. One generational player carrying the load of washed up veterans and young promising players who simply forgot how to play the game. Does this remind you of any specific basketball player? Sounds familiar to me, and it makes you feel for Steph, but I digress.

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