2023/24 Warriors Season Opener and Expectations…
At the time of finalizing this blog about the Warriors season expectations, they’ve kicked off the regular season with an 0-1 record in Kevin Durant’s return to the Bay. TIME TO FREAK OUT!!!!!! Just kidding, that would be wild. While dropping the season opener at home is probably not the greatest way to start out another season filled with hopes of lifting up Larry O’Brien number eight, there are some good takeaways from the game. First off, Stephen Curry is still quite literally that guy. In his 15th season in the Association, he’s still as effective as ever, putting up a 27 point and 5 rebound game. Not bad for an old guy. Another thing that stood out to me is how good Chris Paul is going to fit into the system the Warriors have in place. He balances the backcourt out perfectly with Curry, drawing a little bit of attention away from 30 for a few seconds each trip up the court. Paul put up a 14 point game in 34 minutes in his regular season debut with the dubs. Paul and Curry were the two driving forces in the offensive game, while Kevon Looney did his thing with the boards. 6 defensive and 5 offensive rebounds totaling up 11 boards is exactly what everyone expects him to do. Since he’s really the Warriors only true big man, I’d say that should be the way things work for him all season. Overall a decent offensive performance by the team.
Obviously, there are some glaring holes in the team that might make things interesting for the rest of the season, the main one being size. The Warriors have been known for playing small ball since they started running over the NBA almost 10 years ago, however the game is constantly changing, and in time, that strategy is not going to be as effective. It was already not the most effective lineup on Tuesdays game. Teams like the Suns have larger lineups, and in turn, they bully teams like the Warriors on defense and in the paint. That bullying tactic was on full display on Tuesday. The Warriors were outrebounded 49-60, which is not great. It’s hard for a lineup that consists of 4 out of 5 players being shorter than 6’9 to stay with the rebound pace of a team where most of their starting lineup is around 6’9 or taller. I’m sure that’s one thing that Coach Kerr is going to hammer on in practice, because things could get ugly if they can’t rebound.
The other glaring issue was shooting. I can’t really believe I just wrote shooting as a low point for the Warriors. The greatest shooter of all time, and 2 more in the top 35 with Thompson and Paul. In total, the Warriors went 36/101 in field goals and 10/43 from beyond the arc. No bueno if you ask me. This is one things I am not terribly worried about going forward however, just because this team is made up of shooters, so I know they’ll figure it out quite soon. Paul even said it himself that he wasn’t worried about it, which is reassuring coming from a veteran that has been on may different forms of teams throughout his career. I know for a fact Curry isn’t going to let that type of shooting slide for much longer either.
With 81 games left to go in the season, things are just getting started. Most teams have to shake off the rust in the beginning of the season, so a performance like this isn’t the most worrying thing ever. A 108-104 loss to a team like the Suns is better than a 108-104 loss against a team like the Hornets, so it’s not time to push the panic button considering the season just started.
