SAN FRANCISCO — After a few weeks of constant questioning about where their team is headed in the upcoming seasons, the Warriors sent out a forceful reminder on Tuesday that they are still to be feared in this one.
Golden State celebrated its 2022 championship with a ring ceremony and an easy win over the Lakers on opening night. The weeks leading up to the game were filled with speculation about the Warriors’ future. Can Draymond Green and Jordan Poole get along? Will Draymond be in the team after this season? Can young players develop to serve as contributors now as well as a bridge to the future?
The Dubs didn’t necessarily answer all of these questions overnight. But they showed this team could pick up where it left off the last time we saw them, when Golden State was the last team to make the playoffs. The 123-109 win over the Lakers followed a pattern similar to countless Warriors games in their prime years. An almost carefree first half. An absolutely dominant third quarter. And a general attitude that at no time did they fear their opponent.
It helped Golden State start its season against a lifeless Lakers team that just can’t shoot at the level required to be proficient in the modern NBA. The Dubs’ rotation had almost a preseason dress rehearsal vibe. Stephen Curry was the only player to play more than 30 minutes, and even then it was only 33 minutes. And there were plenty of minutes for the bench, with Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman among those who all got real time on the floor. (Even Moses Moody had four shots in eight minutes.)
Whether young players can become stars alongside established legends remains to be seen. It would definitely help them play against tougher competition. For now, the Warriors’ plan is at least worked out. Find time for the deep bench to grow, then lean on the starters whenever this team needs to make a run. It will not always be easy for Steve Kerr to divide up the minutes. But he has the luxury of always being able to fall back on Curry and whoever else does.
“It reminds me of ’14-15,” Kerr said of the team’s depth after the game. “It reminds me a lot of the level of talent. This team was veteran. This team is young. The talent is really evident.
And that talent remains a problem for the rest of the league. The Warriors may not be an out-of-control favorite like they were during, say, the Kevin Durant years. They don’t need to be, however. Not in the current NBA, in which no team is head and shoulders above anyone else, and super teams have largely followed the path of star-studded duos.
The off-field intrigue really doesn’t affect what this team is capable of. Contracts, luxury tax numbers, future plans: they all felt insignificant on Tuesday. Something everyone on the team has echoed since the Green-Poole incident was the emphasis on repeating as a champion. It is perhaps still early to say that the objective of the championship is already present. Still, the Warriors certainly looked like the version of themselves capable of winning it all in Game 1.
“We went there. We had a job to do tonight to win a game,” Poole said, responding to a question about his status with Green. “It was ring night, and that’s really what we focused on to finish the first game. It was a huge win against a really good team.
It doesn’t really make sense to overreact to opening night. Those who remember Spurs’ 29-point thrashing against the Dubs in Kevin Durant’s debut will tell you that a champion is not crowned in October. What Tuesday turned out to be an atmosphere test at the very start of the season. At least for now, the Warriors have earned a reprieve from all the noise surrounding their future. In the present, Golden State is still very much ready to compete for the ultimate prize.
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