Expectations for the Dubs?

[Hambombs]

What do you think this team will do this year? In terms of record, how far they go in the playoffs. Breakout players ect? Thoughts?

 

[_so_money_]

Record 53-29
#5 seed
Lose in West Semifinals (again) 4-3
Breakout player Harrison Barnes

Minutes Breakdown:
Curry 35
Douglas 16
Bazemore 4
Thompson 30
Iguodala 32
Barnes 30
Green 7
Lee 32
Speights 13
Bogut 28
O'Neal 13
Ezeli 0 (will be more on avg. but hard to say with injuries)

 

[rayhl111]

I think Iggy may break out. That is, I bet he puts up 17 ppg. Like this: Andre 17 6, Bogut 10 and 11, Barnes 13 8, Thompson 18 6 3 assts, Lee 16 10, Curry 21 8. GSW gonna score a bunch of points. The only team w more weapons might be Hous and maybe OKC.

 

[gsw_lightning]

Real close, but Clippers #1 and Warriors #2 in Pacific Division. Me thinks Doc Rivers' past championships plus playoffs experience over Mark Jackson's tenacity as the difference maker. Lakers #3 but too old and window is closing. Kings and Suns battle for #4 and #5 in Pacific Division. Playoff picture...Warriors #5 seed tops, lose again in 2nd round. Western Conference top 8 seeding -- Thunder, Spurs, Clippers, Rockets, Grizzlies, Warriors, Nuggets, Trailblazers.

 

[rayhl111]

GSW Light: Suns are going to stink up the joint. Kings might have some good things going on but unsure of their chemistry. Also, don't think the Nuggs will be top 8. Minn should be a top 8 team if healthy.

 

[Hambombs]

Real close, but Clippers #1 and Warriors #2 in Pacific Division. Me thinks Doc Rivers' past championships plus playoffs experience over Mark Jackson's tenacity as the difference maker. Lakers #3 but too old and window is closing. Kings and Suns battle for #4 and #5 in Pacific Division. Playoff picture...Warriors #5 seed tops, lose again in 2nd round. Western Conference top 8 seeding -- Thunder, Spurs, Clippers, Rockets, Grizzlies, Warriors, Nuggets, Trailblazers.

I say 3rd seed tops with a most likely 4th or 5th this season

 

[rayhl111]

If Bogut can remain healthy, 3-4 seed is a real good bet. JO might be called on to play 12-14 mpg and that might be his max.

 

[Reefer]

If Bogut can remain healthy, 3-4 seed is a real good bet. JO might be called on to play 12-14 mpg and that might be his max.

I just hope JO can hold up while Festus is out so that Bogut isn'y playing 35 minutes a game. If we can keep him around 25-30 then I think he will be much better off come April.

 

[Hambombs]

If Bogut can remain healthy, 3-4 seed is a real good bet. JO might be called on to play 12-14 mpg and that might be his max.

I can see 3-4 seed with Bogut healthy playing 25-30 min

 

[rayhl111]

Ham: The West is loaded. Denver might be knocked down a peg, UT is questionable but all the the other tops teams are so talented. Still, a 4 seed is a bet.

 

[CohanHater]

Ok, so I'll be the homer (which I rarely if never play the role of).... If the ball bounces right, and the injury bug stays away, this team has potential to be the top record in the west for the regular season. I don't think they are there to be the representatives in the finals yet, but I could easily see them putting together a 58 win season.

If the guys that have a history of getting hurt, miss some games I think 50-55 wins is a reasonable expectation

If the injury bug hits us hard, I could see us as a 10 seed. It's really all about that.

The only thing I'm worried about is the Malone move to Sac. I hope Jackson doesn't get overwhelmed this year. I like this staff, though.

 

[CitySushi]

To me, the seeding of the West teams doesn't really matter because of the Warriors strengths and their weaknesses. If healthy, they can legitimately compete and win against anyone. I think the Warriors are likely a 4th seed factoring above average health of the team.

To me there are 3 keys to them having an exceptional season:

1) Post scoring and easy buckets. Everyone knows the Warriors are a jump shooting, 3 point draining team. When the outside buckets aren't dropping, they're going to need to get guys to be able to get them buckets on the block. Outside of David Lee, there's really no one I trust on the block to get a bucket. Bogut may show some improvement after finally being healthy. Barnes and Iguodala have some ability when posting smaller opponents. Other than that, this will be something they will need to have in a 7 game series.

2) Drawing fouls and finishing at the rim. Another drawback of being an outside shooting team is that the ball isn't attacked at the rim and we aren't getting as many opportunities as some of the top teams in the west. The reason OKC will always be towards the top is because their two main guys, Durant and Westbrook, shoot a lot of freethrows. Same with the Clips and Chris Paul, Houston with James Harden. These teams have guys who can facilitate their own points by getting to the rim and either finishing or getting fouled for some freethrows. We don't have anyone yet that has shown they can do this. The importance of this factor is supremely underrated when facing top competition. They say superstars get all the calls, and it's because they initiate the refs to make the calls by attacking the rim. The Warriors will need to have a guy that can do this and really my hopes for that go to Klay Thompson. There's no reason he can't learn something from Kevin Martin and his ability to draw fouls and get to the line, especially with Klay's ability to put the ball on the floor. Finishing is another story...

3) Consistency of defense. We will finally get a look to see what it can truly be like with a healthy Bogut and Iguodala added to the team. I don't think it will be enough this year to be a championship caliber team to just mask defensive flaws. Everyone, from top down has to step it up a notch. Lee and Curry need to show some semblance of defensive ability. We can't just put them on the weakest links anymore and hope for the best. We have to be able to be a team that can get stops. We have the potential, but it has to be shown night in and night out.


I'm going with 51-31, and 4th in the Western Conference because of the above variables. That being said, I'm absolutely confident in their ability to be able to win a 7 game series against any team in the Western Conference.

 

[rayhl111]

CitySush: Good analysis. This is a team primed to get a lot of wins. 50--54 sounds about right. In the post-season they are going to need a sustained defensive effort throughout the playoffs. I can't determine if they have enough on the D. I'll know when I see it. But scoring the ball will be no problem at all. They've 5 guys who could put up 20 a game any day of the week. And if Bogut stays healthy that is so much icing on the cake.

 

[NBKLee]

bump, how many prediction threads do we need