- Warriors veteran reflects on disappointing 2022-23 season
- Draymond says the Lakers will not beat the Warriors again in the NBA playoffs
- Warriors looking for redemption after series loss to LeBron James
One of the biggest surprises of the 2023 playoffs was watching the Golden State Warriors, who had won a title the year before, get taken down by the 7th seeded Lakers. But with the initial shock already expired, Draymond Green is confident that it won’t happen again.
In a recent chat with ESPN, he spoke on the current state of the Warriors, how they can succeed moving forward, and revealed his thoughts on a potential showdown with the Lakers next postseason: “[The Lakers have] done it once, and that’s great,” Green said of the Lakers breaking Golden State’s Western Conference playoff series win streak. “Now someone has to do it again and again. And I don’t foresee that happening.”
The Warriors had a tough battle in the opening round, and it took a full seven games for them to take down the Sacramento Kings. By the time of their showdown against the Lakers, Golden State looked vulnerable and LA took full advantage. In the end, the Warriors got sent home early for the first time in years but there is still hope that they can make amends for it all next season.
Will The Warriors Return To Form?
With a 44-38 record, the cracks were there for Golden State from the very beginning. The first sign of trouble was the incident with Jordan Poole, which created a massive rift in the locker room. Depending on who you ask, it was that ordeal which doomed the Warriors to fail. But with Poole gone, the Warriors can focus on coming back together and reviving their chemistry from years past.
“We have to bring this group back together as one,” Green said. “You couldn’t break our team. You may break one guy, you may break two, but you can’t break this team. And that’s what made us unbeatable.”
Next season, the Dubs are planning to run it back with Steph, Klay, and Draymond and they’ll have Chris Paul in the backcourt to help hold down the fort when Steph sits. Whether or not this will be enough to make the Warriors contenders again remains to be seen, but you cannot fully count them out against any competitor.
The Lakers Cannot Be Underestimated
Draymond Green sounds very confident that the Lakers will be beaten next year, but maybe he shouldn’t be so sure. For a Lakers team that played just 20 or so games together in the regular season, it’s amazing how they were able to turn things around so quickly.
Led by LeBron James (who is still going strong at 38 years old), and Anthony Davis, the Lakers have a core that has already proven they can win it all together and nobody should take them lightly when fully healthy. That’s not even mentioning Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russell, who could all be poised to take a major leap in the 2023-24 season.
For now, it’s still far too early to make any conclusions on the Western Conference standings next season but don’t be surprised if the Warriors and Lakers are two of the teams battling it out for ultimate supremacy in the West.
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