Golden State had a weird off-season. They were coming off a 51-win season and they ended up firing head coach Mark Jackson and hiring Steve Kerr, who hasn’t coached a day in his life. Should we expect Golden State to keep on their upward trend or will there be some growing pains with Kerr in charge?
The Warriors kept their roster pretty much the same. They added a few pieces, but their starting five and key role players are mostly the same.
In the competitive Western Conference, did Golden State make a mistake by not trading David Lee or Klay Thompson to fill a need?
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Golden State Warriors.
2013-14 Win/Loss Record: 51-31
Key Additions: PG Shaun Livingston, SG Leandro Barbosa, SF James Michael McAdoo, SG Sean Kilpatrick, SG Jason Kapono, PG Aaron Craft, SG Justin Holiday & PF Mitchell Watt
Key Losses: SG Jordan Crawford, C Jermaine O’Neal, PG Steve Blake & PF Hilton Armstrong
Projected Starters: Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson & Stephen Curry
Fantasy Sleeper: PG Shaun Livingston – Livingston resurrected his career last season with Brooklyn. I know it has been years since he tore his knees up and came back, but he wasn’t really a factor until last year. He started 50+ games and was often the best player on the court. Golden State might have themselves a steal if Livingston holds up.
Team Analysis: For a few weeks this off-season, we thought Kevin Love would end up in Oakland. A Klay Thompson/Kevin Love trade was rumored, but after LeBron James announced his return to Cleveland, that deal seemed unlikely. Golden State can’t afford to retain Thompson when his contract ends, so they were trying to get something out of him.
I doubt new head coach Steve Kerr enjoyed the idea of losing one of his best perimeter shooters, so I’m sure he had a long talk with general manager Bob Myers. Having a back-court full of shooters like Steph Curry and Thompson is probably the main reason he decided to take the coaching job.
The Warriors are once again setup to score points. Defense will be an issue. Curry has definitely improved on that end, but the signing of Livingston helps in the perimeter. David Lee has been and will always be a joke on defense. Golden State should be on the phone with Detroit to see if they can pry Greg Monroe away for Klay Thompson. If they had a legit low-post defender, this team could be head-to-head with the Clippers and Spurs as the cream of the Western conference.
2014-15 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 51.5 (Prediction: UNDER)
2014-15 Projected Win/Loss Record: 51-31 (5th in Western Conference)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.