![]() ![]() The Thunder might be able to thread the needle they still have Adams, a rude, pointy-elbowed instigator dangerous catching lobs in the pick-and-roll, and the Roberson/George pairing can envelope opposing wings.īut George and Anthony posted career-low offensive rebounding rates last season. Both appear to have moved away from that template, and toward smaller, all-offense lineups geared toward keeping up with Golden State's scoring machine. Switch to survive, and two of those guys - Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant - roast mismatches.īoth the Cavs and Thunder have some history smothering the Warriors with length and bullying them on the glass. The Warriors unleash three of the greatest shooters in the entire history of Earth as screen-setters and cutters. Melo is cool switching on to Danny Green after a pindown screen, or chasing Trevor Ariza around one. It is never as simple as helping off Iguodala and Green in the corners.Īgainst even normal 60-win teams, a bad defender could navigate all that whirring complexity. They use all five players as screen-setters and cutters. It's easy to say both Love and Melo can hang one-on-one with Green and (when the Warriors bust out the Death Lineup) Andre Iguodala. No rule requires Golden State wait to do so. Starting him at center over Tristan Thompson gives him an easier hiding spot - Pachulia - until the Warriors downsize. The Thunder would find ways to make Roberson less useless on offense so that he can lock down on the other end.īut when Golden State goes small, with Draymond Green at center, who is Melo guarding? Hell, who is he guarding when the starters face off, and Steven Adams wrestles Zaza Pachulia? Love is already familiar with this dilemma, and handled it better than he has been given credit for in last season's NBA Finals. Anthony would have a safe resting place on defense. Some Thunder groups will feature both Anthony and Andre Roberson, an awful shooter the Warriors will ignore.Īgainst even normal 60-win teams, those blemishes wouldn't matter. Cleveland's might feature two - Kevin Love and whichever traditional point guard Tyronn Lue has available. Oklahoma City's best lineups will feature at least one glaring minus on defense in Carmelo Anthony. They do not have an exploitable weakness, and if you have one, they are uniquely constructed - among all teams, ever - to exploit it. The Warriors, when healthy, are almost a perfect team. And yet they all remain massive underdogs. The Thunder likely snagged two! The upgrades give most of them flexibility to toggle between potent big lineups and even more potent smaller ones - a must-have malleability against Golden State. Golden State Warriors HOPING FOR AN ANKLE SPRAIN Cleveland Cavaliers Oklahoma City Thunder Houston Rockets San Antonio SpursĪll of these teams, save the Spurs, acquired future Hall of Famers. TIER OF THEIR OWN: GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Umm. ![]() These are not power rankings, and the listed order within each tier doesn't matter. Here is our next big preseason tradition: plopping all 30 teams into tiers. Rating NBA tiers: Warriors to worst and every team betweenĪfter a whirlwind summer (and fall!), it's useful to zoom out, breathe deep and take stock of where everyone stands heading into the new season. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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