The Dubs fizzling to Duds?

The Golden State Warriors are the defending champs and by far the favorite to win the NBA championships in 2018, but it has to be a major concern with all of the recent injuries that have happened to the star-studded cast that they boast. Kevin Durant is out with two broken ribs, Stephen is out with a sprained right knee, Klay Thompson is dealing with a fractured right thumb, and Draymond Green, who is notorious for allegedly kicking people where it hurts, ironically is on the sideline with a pelvic injury. Nearing the end of the season, the Dubs have been up and down this season without it’s “nukes”, but the effect of this team playing in these circumstances has multiple possible outcomes. Of course, this includes one of the greatest modern coaches in today’s game with Steve Kerr and a bench that has had plenty of playing time due to multiple blowouts this season.

The reserves have had to carry the load recently, but Jalen Rose summed it up best at this moment and nothing could be more true than them being vulnerable. Right now, the ultimate fire in the NBA is the ability to shoot the three, and that comes with a pedigree to hit the tough three pointers whether they are contest or from deep. With arguably, the best three Point Marksmen in the league out in Durant, Thompson, Curry, this team is relying on the heroics of Nick “Swaggy P” Young to hit those shots. In the Last 3 games, the Warriors have ranked 8th in the league in Three point shooting with 7 made per game which is drastically lower than the 11.5 they are accustomed to hitting. This sheds light on a gap between the Elite Teams and those who rely greatly on the shot because of the lack of talent in other areas of the game.

It’s easy to write off some teams around the league because the Warriors simply play a style of basketball that involves their whole team no matter who is on the court. Though that may be the case for a team like the Suns, but the west is Wild. Golden State is 2nd in the west behind the blazing hot Houston Rockets who stand above all teams at 60-14 leading the league in 3 point shooting with 15.5 per game, but the Warriors also have to deal with teams have a have withstood the pre-playoff injury. It is impossible to dismiss the OKC Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs who all have playoff veterans ready for the task as well as a highly energized Portland Trail Blazers. It’s a time table till the Warriors are fully staffed and they will need every ounce of help they can get.

It simply isn’t enough to rely on the controversial antics of Zaza Pachulia in dealing with other team’s firepower. No, in order to even think about a chance to retain the title this year, the Warriors will need to get everyone healthy. The warriors cannot drop games to teams that are not contending for playoff spots and even hope to deal with the onslaught of teams who have been out for their defeat since last season whereas they dominated the West. Anything less than getting to the Finals equals redundancy for an organization of this pedigree, but what’s most shameful in this particular scenario is if the firepower is back for the playoffs and they are eliminated in the first round by a 7 or 6 seeded team who smelled weakness.