Despite being a dominant team in past years, the Golden State Warriors need some time before they’ll be championship contenders again.
The Warriors haven’t won a championship title since 2018, the end of their four-year reign in the NBA.
In those four years, they were an unbelievable force that had three superstars at one point: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant.
The only time they were beaten during their reign was against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Warriors blew their 3-1 lead in the seven-game series but even with that setback they were a force to be reckoned with and are most definitely due for another title. But it won’t be from this season.
This current season is a bit different than it was during the Warriors’ dynasty. After a terrible 2019-20 season, they ended up placing last in the Western Conference with a 15-50 record, according to an official NBA recap.
There has been doubt that the Warriors are contenders for the championship title this year.
The team this 2020-21 season is also different from the previous year.
From watching the Warriors play, it seems like they’re an overall good team that works well together.
But without Thompson playing because of his injury and with stronger teams to face, it would be a very difficult task.
Thompson is one half of the “Splash Brothers” so of course he’s an important asset to the team and their success.
Thompson, like Curry, is a superstar and with him being out for the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles tendon, it sets the team way back.
Thompson is one of the best shooters on the Warriors with an average of 21 points per game, according to the official NBA website.
That equates to a lot of potential missed points without him playing.
The NBA website shows Thompson’s field goal percentage for the 2018-19 at 46.7%, his 3-point percentage at 40.2% and free throw percentage at 81.6%.
It’s clear that just by himself Thompson is a key offensive force.
Having him on the court puts the Warriors at a good advantage, so without him it’ll be difficult to make it far in the playoffs.
Not only that but him and Curry are the perfect pair. Their rhythm on the court together makes it challenging for opposing teams to contain them.
If teams focus too much on just Thompson, then Curry is left open to make shots and vice versa.
Without Thompson, Curry is easily isolated compared to when both of the Splash Brothers play.
The Warriors have a good shot at playing a decent regular season by playing a different team every night and opposing teams don’t tend to focus on strategies for specific teams or players.
But when it comes down to the playoffs, it’s completely different. Instead of a different team every night, teams are put in a best-of-seven series where they play best of four wins.
With a seven game series, teams are able to strategize how to defeat specific opponents.
Without Thompson on the roster, opposing teams can plan to isolate Curry which will make it hard for the Warriors to score.
In addition, the Warriors have strong teams to face just in their Western Conference including the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz.
Both teams have notable players including LeBron and Anthony Davis on the Lakers, and Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert on the Jazz.
I have been a Warriors fan since I was 6 years old.
I love the team and I do think they are due for another championship title. Unfortunately without Thompson and with so many strong teams this season, I don’t think they’ll be contenders this year.
Give them a year or two and they’ll be back to bring home the title.
