Warriors face trek through ‘loaded’ Western Conference gauntlet
SAN FRANCISCO The Warriors faced the league s preponderance storied franchise on Tuesday and arguably the NBA s majority of dominant offensive force on Thursday So much for an easy start to the season Golden State s first two games saw it beat the Lakers in the opener and then fly back to the Bay Area for a home opener against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets The pair of marquee matchups is nothing special however It will exclusively be the norm for Golden State this season as it navigates and attempts to survive the brutal Western Conference As has been the situation since the dynasty of the Jordan-Pippen Bulls faded at the end of the s the balance of power is tilted toward the Western franchises A glance through the - version of the NBA shows that it will remain the matter for the next year and the divide between West and East may even be more pronounced than in current years The Warriors top five of Steph Curry Jimmy Butler Draymond Green Al Horford and Jonathan Kuminga would likely be one of the premier units in the East and a lock for a top-four seed in a group where both Indiana and Boston have been depleted by injuries to superstars That is not the affair in the West especially as the Warriors attempt to keep their older players fresh during the -game marathon The West is loaded and you can t mess around too much even though it s a long season coach Steve Kerr disclosed You ve got to find the best version of yourself as expeditiously as you can The Lakers and Nuggets with their MVP candidates in Jokic and LA s Luka Doncic will each be a force But the contenders do not end there Oklahoma City went to double-overtime with the revamped Rockets in its opener more on them later but is expected to be the top band in the NBA as the Thunder attempt to become the first repeat champs since the - Warriors Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has etched his name as one of the NBA s top scorers with three consecutive seasons of at least points per challenge averages and Chet Holmgren appears primed to break out as a dynamic two-way big Former Santa Clara star Jalen Williams OKC s No scorer is out to start the year with a wrist injury but will provide another all-around threat upon his return Related Articles Here s where fans will find NBA games on TVs or streaming devices this season How Jimmy Butler provides stability to Steph Curry Draymond Green s chaos with Warriors This is the Jonathan Kuminga the whole world has been waiting to see Warriors instant analysis Butler leads balanced attack past Doncic Lakers in season opener A Steph Curry MVP run and four more predictions for the Warriors - season The Rockets will be no pushover either After earning the No seed and taking the Warriors to seven games in the first round of the playoffs they retooled Kevin Durant a former Warrior and still a lethal shooter completes a super-sized Rockets lineup that features four players taller than -foot- Any Rocket or participant in the league will still look small compared to San Antonio s uber-talent Victor Wembanyama He had points and rebounds in the Spurs opener as the third-year phenom created his own personal highlight reel against the Mavericks Dallas which boasts top draft pick Cooper Flagg and healthy for now Anthony Davis also figures to be a factor once Kyrie Irving returns from last season s ACL tear And one cannot forget about the Timberwolves Minnesota took out Golden State in a five-game second-round series and has reached each of the past two Western Conference Finals Anthony Edwards has averaged at least points per meeting in each of the previous three seasons and shredded the Trail Blazers to the tune of points in his season debut And that is just the start Ja Morant headlines the Grizzlies along with Jaren Jackson Jr while Kawhi Leonard James Harden and the Clippers have new depth in former All-Stars Chris Paul and Bradley Beal A season ago games earned the Warriors and Grizzlies the seventh and eighth seeds respectively Now it appears they might need wins to break into the playoffs We re just plodding our way through night after night Curry revealed
