#360view: Warriors super team yet to discover powers

Jay Asser 07:29 27/10/2016
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  • Troubled start: Golden State Warriors.

    We were all fooled. Not by the Golden State Warriors’ unimaginable potential or immense star power, but by the grandiose expectations we projected onto them with the idea that they were a fully-assembled Death Star capable of disintegrating opposing teams from jump street.

    The expectations, in hindsight, were too high too quickly. But that’s not to say they were unfair. How can you not anticipate a 73-win team, whose core was retained and bolstered with the addition of one of the best players in the league, to be even better?

    History has repeatedly shown us that super teams – the 2012 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2010 Miami Heat to name the most recent – are usually a work-in-progress. A team like the 2008 Boston Celtics, who were dominant right away, are the exception, not the rule.

    But if this perfect storm that is Golden State can’t challenge conventional wisdom, then we shouldn’t ever allow ourselves to be blinded to this extent again.

    One game is a foolhardy sample size, but the 29-point defeat to the San Antonio Spurs wasn’t just a regular loss. It was one that let all the air out of a balloon which had been inflating since July and revealed real flaws with what was considered a flawless team.

    Right or wrong, the Warriors season is going to be a referendum on Kevin Durant. He is, after all, the biggest variable from last season’s team to this year’s. But in the loss to San Antonio, the new guy wasn’t to blame. In fact, Durant looked as good as advertised, scoring a team-high 27 points and doing things only the long-limbed former MVP is capable of.

    Stephen Curry may not have scorched the court like he so often has, but he still scored 26 points on 50 per cent shooting. Draymond Green, meanwhile, finished with a stat line that was very Draymond-esque: 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals.

    The only member of the Big Four that came up considerably flat was Klay Thompson, as his 11 points played a minor role.

    The foursome can and will be better, individually and as a collective, but for all the offensive talent they share, if the loss taught them anything it’s that their focus needs to be on the other end of the floor.

    Allowing 129 points is a recipe for disaster, no matter if you’re playing the Spurs or the Milwaukee Bucks. The loss of Andrew Bogut is going to sting, especially initially, but unless we’ve all been downplaying the centre’s Defensive Player of the Year candidacy the past two years, the rest of the Warriors shouldn’t have much of an excuse.

    A large part of this has to do with the Spurs being the Spurs. Of course the relatively-unknown Jonathon Simmons scored 20 points. Of course Kawhi Leonard looks like he can take another step as an offensive force. This is what this team does year in and year out. They defy expectations, which was made all the more ironic by the disappointment their opposition delivered.

    Golden State aren’t going to play a team as good the one they faced every night. Had they had a similar performance against, say, the Phoenix Suns, the cause for concern would be much worse.

    In the grand scheme of things, however, their disjointed start to the season could mean very little. Eighty one games remain in the regular season for them to figure things out and while they may not break their own record for wins or be the greatest team ever, their title chances can discerned from a single loss.

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