Roundtable: How we feeling about the first three games, folks?

How soon is too soon to worry?

Obviously, a team as talented as the Golden State Warriors probably doesn’t have to fret too much about early season wobbles but that doesn’t mean there is absolutely no cause for concern.

The writers here at GSOM were discussing all this in our offline chat, and we thought it would be fun to open this up to include the rest of the community in the conversation.

Are you concerned? Or are you at Nate Parham level of concern at this point? Meh. Let’s check in to see what everyone has to say on this question:

Nate Parham

Meh - they're just unprepared. Championship hangover?

Charlie

yeah. something like that.

Mike

Enjoying seeing them go through a bit of adversity early on tbh. Need them to lose early on so they can remember how to win again. Sounds crazy but I blame the 73 wins/championship from previous season for the 2016 finals.

They tend to get too lackadaisical at times when everything has been going well and need that spark reignited sometimes.In the end I wouldn't care or be worried if they lost the next 10 in a row.

By the time the playoffs come around they'll be better off for it.

Brady

I'm a tiny bit frustrated, to be honest. Not because I'm worried at all, but the struggles are coming in a decidedly un-fun manner. Durant in particular seems to be rebelling slightly against the offense. It seems when he's in he's back to standing at the elbow, waiting for the ball, not moving, and then just going one-on-one, and then forcing things when he does pass. It's reminiscent of other teams with multiple stars who win a lot because of sheer star power, but never seem to actually fit and run nice offensive sets.

Anyway, they started last year similarly, and I'm certainly not in the least bit worried, but I enjoy the losses where they overpass and get flashy and selfless to a fault a lot more than the losses where they look a little bit too much like the Thunder.

Apricot

They look sluggish and out of shape. HOU is very very good, and MEM is a tough matchup for GSW and our declining bigs, especially on the road on a back-to-back with Curry getting cheap fouls. So I’m concerned, but this all seems fixable. Now if GSW had been losing to the Magic by 37 at home, that’s a real concern. :wink:

Brady

A magic team missing 2 starters might be an even bigger concern!

Gold Blooded King

I co-sign the early adversity being positive. Steph going full Rasheed Wallace mode should create a point for the team to rally around.

Thomas

I know I'm making excuses but I think the abbreviated preseason and China trip is a great deal to blame. The big, recurring issues are those of crispness and precision, things that are addressed with more time, practice, and a consistent/normal schedule.

Hugo Kitano

I’m not surprised, but I’m a little annoyed that they’re so sloppy. There’s clearly a lack of urgency, defensive shortcomings, and poor conditioning. I’m not worried about them bouncing back, but their regular season record could be a little lower than we may have thought before the season if they decide to take it easy.

There are a bunch of little things that are going wrong. Steph getting into foul trouble too often is something that will probably be fixed sooner or later. Zaza Pachulia being almost useless might not change. It will be a process to figure out what the Warriors need to change, but nonetheless, they’re still an elite team with the highest ceiling of any team in history.

Sleepy Freud

Not even a little bit concerned, though I missed Game 3 so maybe I should be, mildly? If I were to grumble about anything right now, it would be that Ian Clark is killing it with the Pels, which kinda confirms the only real issue I had with the team's offseason maneuvers. Clark is five years younger than Young, quicker, in much better shape, and more capable of initiating the offense and making plays. He was also one of the most beloved guys on the team. Is all that offset by Young being four inches taller? I feel like they're close enough where if Swaggy loses some weight it's probably a push, but if we had spent the MLE on Swaggy, lost out on McGee because of it, and then watched Clark sign elsewhere for the vet min, that would have been a fairly epic fail.

As it stands, though, I feel like the level of concern should be about 5% of what it was this March when the team lost three straight, 5 of 7, and were staring 6 losses in 8 games in the face on their home floor against the lowly Sixers as they entered the 4th quarter down 12. With KD injured, and a cratering 0.5 game lead over the Spurs for the top seed. And even then the level of concern should not have been particularly elevated, since the team proceeded to win that game, go 31-2 from that point, and breeze to an easy-peasy championship. :)

So. What do you all think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!