Golden State Warriors Mailbag: Bigs, Playoff Prediction, and More!
January 2, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) congratulates guard Klay Thompson (11) for making a three-point basket during the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Raptors 126-105. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
It’s still so early in the season that it’s hard to predict exactly how far this Warriors team will go in the playoffs. There’s still a lot of unknown information that might affect my answer, such as if another Western Conference team makes a significant trade (or poor trade) at or before the trade deadline, injuries on the Warriors roster or another Western Conference team’s roster, etc.
I’m unable to predict the future, unfortunately, so the best that I can do to answer this question is go with my gut.
The Warriors will go to the Western Conference Finals this year, but they will ultimately lose to the Memphis Grizzlies or San Antonio Spurs. It will be a long series, six or seven games, but the Warriors will fall just short. This could be because of injuries, because of the physicality and slow pace if they’re facing the Grizzlies, or because of the ageless Spurs, who find ways to win in the postseason, no matter what happened (including injuries) in the regular season.
This doesn’t mean that I’m not rooting for the Warriors to go all the way, and this doesn’t mean that I don’t believe that the Warriors have a chance at making it to the NBA Finals. I don’t believe they’re quite at the level of NBA champions yet, but I do believe that this Warriors team is capable of anything and they could certainly make a long run in the playoffs.
When I have my journalist hat on, I try to be realistic and look at all of the necessary angles to come up with a conclusion. That leads me to believe that they won’t win an NBA title this season, because they don’t have Finals experience yet (which is quite different than playoff experience) and their health for the rest of the season is so crucial.
When I have my fan hat on though, I believe that this Warriors team can go far. They have that “never say die” attitude that champions have. Just ask my other favorite team, the San Francisco Giants.
As mentioned before, there are so many unknowns for the rest of the season, so it’s hard to make an accurate, educated prediction. I’ll predict that the Warriors make it to the Western Conference Finals. I’ll hope that the Warriors can become NBA champions.