It’s been a while since the Golden State Warriors were a dominant team. They struggled mightily in 2020 and were knocked out of the playoffs in the play-in tournament the following season.
Some people say that the Warriors’ run is over. Kevin Durant’s departure and Klay Thompson’s injury sealed the end of the dynasty and they will never go back to their former self.
Jalen Rose, however, thinks that people are sleeping on the Warriors, citing that they have the combination of youth and experience to be a legit threat out of the Western Conference:
(Transcript via NBC Sports Bay Area)
“You can probably pair a [James] Wiseman and one of your young players with a [Andrew] Wiggins and now go out and get a more established player to go out and make another run at a ring.”
“The Warriors do have the Splash Brothers and Steph Curry was top-five in the MVP race last year without Klay,” Rose added. “Draymond Green was still one of the elite defenders in the league. They still have Steve Kerr as their head coach. When you look at the other teams (in the West), they just haven’t done it.”
Klay’s status and level after such a long layoff are still up in the air. The Warriors expect him to be back on the court by Christmas, but he could be limited in back-to-back sets or play on a minutes restriction.
Nonetheless, should Thompson be somewhere near the level he was prior to his injury, then the Warriors would go back to being a legit championship contender.
This core of players already knows what it’s like to dominate and thrive in the playoffs. They made it to the NBA Finals twice in a row before adding Kevin Durant to that mix, so it’s not like they needed him to win.
Simply put, Jalen is right. Don’t sleep on the Dubs.
