The Golden State Warriors 2024 Predictions

A lot of media people are questioning the fit of Chris Paul with Steph Curry and the Warriors. They say his style of play doesn't fit Steve Kerr's motion offense. They say he makes the Warriors too small. They say he runs too many pick and rolls. They say this, they say that, and that's fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but my goodness guys, they should really take a look at the facts from time to time. Because the truth is, every team Chris Paul has ever gone to has only gotten better. The Hornets, the Clippers, the Rockets, the Thunder, the Suns, literally every single team he's gone to has gotten better. That ain't an opinion, that ain't biased, that's just the truth. You know, whether you hate his rip-through move, or whether you think he's annoying, or whether you just don't like his smile, you can't deny the fact that this man is a basketball genius. Having watched him play for over the last decade or so, he's one of the few NBA players that I can confidently say is playing chess, while everyone else is playing checkers. Ladies and gentlemen, with this one roster change, Steph Curry and the crew have massively changed their outlook for the upcoming season, and with that being said, this is the Golden So, as we all know by now, the downfall of the 2023 Warriors came down to two simple facts. Number one being the formidable trio of Mark Davis, David Guthrie, and Scott Foster. And number two being, their bench could simply not produce. I mean, using numbers, I've already shown time and time again that the Warriors starting five of Curry, Clay, Wiggins, Draymond, and Looney are literally the best of the best. They outperformed both the number one seeds in each conference, the Nuggets and the Bucks, in both the regular season and the playoffs. But when it came to their bench production, however, it was an entirely different story. Jordan Poole regressed significantly, Wiseman never took that leap, Steve Kerr played Kaminga in the regular season but not the playoffs, and with Moody, it was vice versa. The whole season was just a complete mess when it came to the second unit, and looking at the net rating statistics, they were in the bottom half during the regular season then when the playoffs came around, out of 16 teams, they were 12th. That was more or less the tale of the tape in 2023. Things are about to change though, because like I said, Chris Paul is a basketball sage, and in 2024, I predict the Warriors are not only going to have one of the best starting fives in the league, but they're also going to have one of the best benches in the league as well. Chris Paul, in addition to being the mid-range maestro that he is, will unlock Kaminga and Moody, and will also make the most of Trace Jackson Davis, who is a beast by the way. You know, some people may say that CP3 is too old now at 38, but just two seasons ago when he was 36, he was 5th in MVP voting. And uh, to compensate for his age, he'll probably only play around 20 minutes per game instead of 35, and then on top of that, he'll be playing against bench players instead of starters. Anyway, let's say the Warriors starting five continues where they left off, and that their bench becomes a top 10 bench in the league, which is quite reasonable based on their personnels. That'll probably give them an extra 10 wins or so in the regular season, which should catapult them to roughly a 54-win team, which should be enough for a top 3 seed in the West. Simultaneously, this will allow the Warriors to do two things during the regular season. Number one being, it'll give Kerr the luxury of resetting his star players. In 2023, the Warriors were perpetually fighting to stay in the playoffs, and as a result, he had no choice but to play Curry for a whopping 35 minutes per game. Then uh, number two is something that isn't talked about enough, but having that extra cushion in wins is going to allow Kerr to play and develop the young players more. Now, Kaminga and Moody aren't rookies anymore, they're actually third-year vets, which is kinda weird to say. But they'll both average a lot more minutes now that Kerr will have the luxury of not having to constantly worry about playoff seeding, and as a result, Kaminga and Moody will be playoff ready after the 82-game regular season. You know, in a recent interview, Steve Kerr talked about what Steph Curry told him about Specifically that they didn't have enough variety in the ways they could score. That everything was just high pick and rolls with Steph, and throughout that whole series with the Lakers, they just couldn't create enough. Well, that's all about to change because more than anyone else in the NBA, Chris Paul is notoriously known for his ability to manipulate defenses to exploit mismatches, and because of that, there'll be an endless amount of ways that he'll be able to get a bucket. But anyway, when it comes to the starting five of the Warriors, I don't see them regressing one bit. I mean, Steph just played at an MVP level in 2023, Draymond just had the most efficient scoring season of his career and made another all-defensive team, and as for Klay, well, he just led the league in three-pointers made. Now, with regards to how the season will start for the Warriors, I see them jumping out of the gates like they did back in 2022. Their championship experience will kick in early, and they'll understand how important it'll be to start the season off right. The Warriors are going to be so thankful that Kaminga didn't get traded because he and CP3 will prove to be a lethal two-man combo coming off the bench. And uh, when the Warriors meet the Wizards, I don't see Jordan Poole and Draymond engaging in any friendly gestures. Anyway, when the end of the regular season rolls around, I got the Warriors coming in second in the West, only because they'll rest their players a bit in the middle of the season after they've built up a steady cushion. Then in the playoffs, I see the Warriors going up against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the The combination of Shea Gilgis-Alexander, Josh Giddey, the two Williams guys, and Chet Holgrim aren't going to surprise people. They've got size, length, and youth on their side, and they'll win in the play-in tournament. Against the Warriors in the playoffs, however, they'll put up a decent fight, but they'll ultimately fall in five games. Then after the Thunder, the Warriors will face the Los Angeles Clippers. It could quite possibly be the Lakers again, but man, I hope they don't see the Lakers in the second round again. I mean, LeBron's team will always have a plus-20 or plus-30 advantage when it comes to free-throw attempts, so to beat them, you've actually gotta beat the refs, and that ain't an easy task. But back to the Clippers. For the first time in a long time, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will be playing a significant number of games because of the new CBA rules and the requirements needed to sign a Supermax contract. I see the Clippers meeting the Warriors in the second round, and I got the Warriors winning that series in six. Then, in the Western Conference Finals, I have the Phoenix Suns meeting the Warriors. Yeah, as good as Jokic and Murray were during their 2023 championship run, I got the Suns beating them this time in the second round. Durant and the Suns will have a whole season to develop chemistry, and the Nuggets just lost a key member of their bench in Bruce Brown. Then this victory will set up the matchup we all want to see. Kevin Durant vs. Steph Curry. Ultimately for Durant, the Suns are going to find out that the depth of the Warriors will be too much for them. I mean, whether it's the starting five or the bench, there will be a generational point guard leading both units. And while the Suns will have all the firepower in the world, the Warriors will also pack quite the punch. But at the same time, they'll have ironclad defense, thanks to Draymond, Wiggins, GP2, and Chris Paul. Yeah, CP3 might not be the defensive pest he used to be, but remember, this dude was selected to the all-defensive team nine times. His ability to see plays develop before they happen will be useful on both ends of the court. Against the Phoenix Suns, I got the Warriors in six. Then in the NBA Finals. To be honest, it doesn't matter who wins in the East at this point. The 76ers are currently imploding from the inside, the Bucks have their fair share of problems, and the Celtics, although they just added Chris Tapps-Prazingas, are still going to have the same problems they've had in the last two years, and that's the inability to finish close games against elite opponents. At the end of all this, Steph Curry will get his fifth ring and cement himself as the second best player in NBA history right behind Jordan, while Chris Paul will finally accomplish his dream of winning a championship, and Charles Barkley will still discount Kevin Durant for not being able to lead a team to a championship without Curry.