As excited as most of us are getting about the upcoming Golden State Warriors' season, it's not only those of us who have suffered through losing for years that see glimmers of hope for this season.
Zach Lowe of SI.com listed the Warriors as one of "seven really intriguing teams fighting for three playoff spots", reinforcing what we already know about the current roster.
Simply put: This team is a total unknown, with precisely zero reliable backups for big men Bogut and David Lee. The Warriors will kick the tires on free-agent power forward Carl Landry with the mid-level exception, but that’s no guarantee, especially because they still have to strike a deal with swingman Brandon Rush. If they miss on Landry, they’ll need to sign a lesser player or hope someone from the group of Andris Biedrins, 21-year-old Jeremy Tyler and rookies Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green steps up, and that Lee and Bogut stay healthy.
The theory here is spot-on.
There's nothing new here for most of us at GSoM - even as people trumpeted the need for the Warriors to get a small forward leading up to the draft, most of us were well-aware of the team's shallow frontcourt. And although there is still the possibility that they sign both a backup big and Rush, not signing a known quality to back up Bogut and Lee will only add to all the uncertainty surrounding this team heading into the season.
But none of that changes his main point there that it's nice to see people in the national media recognizing: for the first time in years, the Warriors have put together a team that is built around some sort of recognizable coherent and sustainable theory. And it should be an exciting year (of good basketball) to watch.