The Golden State Warriors have won their 4th NBA title, continuing their epic dynasty. With the core pieces of their dynasty still in tact along with the emerging young talent, they likely will remain in the championship picture over the next couple years. Next season, the Warriors have obviously earned the respect of being considered the team to be beat but many teams will be vying for their throne. Many of these teams expect to be much more formidable than they were last year as they have gained playoff experience or have their best players returning from injury. The Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers are the three teams capable of being the biggest threat to the Warriors, I will breakdown why.
The Memphis Grizzlies will be a very compelling matchup for the Warriors especially if the commentary from the players from both teams is any indication. In the playoffs, Golden State defeated the Grizzlies in 6 games but their star point guard Ja Morant missed the last 3 games of the series due to injury. It will be interesting to see how a fully healthy and more experienced Grizzlies squad can matchup with the Warriors next season. Though the biggest question will be can the Grizzlies improve on last season's success, how they perform against the defending champs will be a major indicator.
The Denver Nuggets being a formidable threat to the Golden State Warriors is primarily based on the fact they are led by the reigning 2-time MVP in Nikola Jokic. However, as the first round series against the Warriors indicated, it will take a lot more help for the Nuggets to have a real chance. Fortunately for the Nuggets they will have the return of two talented players in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter jr. Murray in particular will bring a much needed offensive threat other than Jokic especially if he can get back to the player he was before tearing his ACL in the 20-21 season. Through 48 games that season Murray averaged a career high 21.2 points and 4.8 assists per game. If the Nuggets can keep their big 3 in Porter jr, Murray, and Jokic healthy they are primed to be a major threat against the Golden State Warriors.
When thinking about the top title contenders for next season the Los Angeles Clippers have to be high on that list. The Clippers have possibly the deepest roster in the NBA and the superstar talent to match up with any team in the league. Despite their two stars in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard missing a vast majority of the season the Clippers were able to put together a solid season led by their head coach Tyronn Lue. With the return of their dynamic wing duo along with a major new addition at point guard in 5-time all star John Wall, the Clippers should emerge as arguably the biggest threat to Golden State.
Although a lot could change between now and the start of the 22-23 NBA season, I expect these 3 teams to be the biggest threats to the Golden State Warriors' quest for back to back titles.
Comentários