THE CHASE CENTER in San Francisco it is empty, even if the Golden State Warriors occupy the court. It is a cavernous structure, an ark whose features reflect the novelties and aesthetics of the age of technology. Not long ago, Golden State was one of those firsts, a team that changed the way basketball is played. Stephen Curry challenged what was considered a good shot for decades. Draymond Green challenged what tacticians for decades believed should be an NBA center. Klay Thompson played a modern escort. The team found the right balance between data-driven efficiency and the fine arts of basketball.
Five consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals, three championships.
Two-and-a-half years after their most recent title and seven games in the season, the Warriors today look more like an NBA team than an exceptional team that initially faces the same problems that mid-table teams go through. trying to resolve – team identity, individual roles, collective acceptance. They still have Curry, a star who turns out to be able to drag an average roster into the postseason. But without much depth, the Warriors must enable young prospects and fringe players to take on roles once played by sages like Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.
Now that Thompson is out of season, they’ll spend the time acclimating to newcomers like Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. and training their promising rookie, James Wiseman. These are exciting projects for the Warriors. If you stare long enough and imagine Thompson swinging around layered screens, the sum of those parts could tempt you in 2021-22.
But the Warriors also have an existential uncertainty: will this core ever win another title?
That question will report all items on your to-do list. Wiseman is being groomed to have the skills and knowledge necessary to finish fifth on a championship team. Curry and Green are tasked with maintaining their core game level and aptitude, allowing the Warriors to outsmart their opponents. There is the utmost need to bring strangers into the fold and give them that special Golden State sauce.
The Warriors don’t seem to be contenders this season, not without Thompson. The early results say the same as they start their two-game run with the LA Clippers (Wednesday 10 p.m. ET on ESPN) at 4-3, 18th in offensive efficiency and 24th in defense.
But the Warriors have just as much at stake as any other fringe playoff contender, investing much of it in Curry, Green and Wiseman even while waiting to place their bet. They are in a state of discovery, learning how to kill themselves in a competition where they were transcendent their entire NBA life.