The Golden State Warriors are NBA champions. They won 67 games during the regular season. The went 16-1 through playoffs, mutilating pretty much everyone in their path. They have four All-NBA talents on their roster, all of them in their prime. They might be, and probably are, the best team in NBA history. The thought of them getting better shouldn’t exist. And yet, it does, inside Zaza Pachulia.
From the Mercury News‘ Mark Medina:
“I think we’re going to be even better this year with the confidence, the trust factor and knowing for ourselves we won a championship with that team, with that personalities on the team and the chemistry we have,” Pachulia said. “We can be even better with the focus we have with better details in how to improve.”
To stop that from happening, plenty of other NBA teams have loaded up their respective rosters. The Rockets acquired Chris Paul to pair with James Harden in the backcourt. The Thunder landed Paul George in hopes a one-year experiment with Russell Westbrook will become something more permanent. The Boston Celtics became shrewd in both free agency (Gordon Hayward) and trades (Kyrie Irving).
“We got Nick Young. We got Omri Casspi. We got Jordan Bell,” Pachulia answered.
Can you really fault Pachulia’s logic here?
Screw the new additions. Durant is now fully integrated into the Warriors’ culture and system. Stephen Curry and himself have a better feel for playing off one another. The roles for Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are more clearly defined. And, to journey back to those additions, the Warriors are deeper overall.
So, yes, they could be better. They will be better. Even if it’s not reflected in their win total, they’re scarier now, by a noticeable margin, than they were this time last year. It will reveal itself in some way, some form, some shape, and it’ll definitely be abundantly apparent by the time the postseason rolls around.
