Wrapping up the 2020-2021 Golden State Season
Is this season considered a success for the Warriors? The Dubs didn’t make it to the playoffs and in my mind, that’s what constitutes a successful season. With that being said, I say no but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some bright spots from this past campaign that make me very excited for the future. I will always remember that six-game winning streak at the end of the season which included wins over Utah and Phoenix. That was really special.
The biggest positive I saw this season was the growth of both Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole. “Maple Jordan” has proven all the haters wrong and has turned into a two-way stud. He can be a consistent 2nd or 3rd go-to scorer (depending on if a big-named free agent comes to the Bay or if Klay will be able to go right back to his normal self, both being very tough and are way up in the air). With Poole, he will be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate next season. If we could have another scoring guard (or maybe if the price is right and Oubre wants to come off the bench next season) to play alongside Jordan, then the bench production would be very high. That was something this squad had its ups and downs with this season. Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, and Davion Mitchell are a few names that I dream of being placed in that certain situation if we were extremely lucky enough to snag them in the NBA Draft.
As for the old dudes, this was the best I’ve ever seen Curry offensively and even the best from Green defensively in my opinion. The problem is that Steph can’t do it alone and Green needs to to step up on the other side of the floor. I can’t have Curry dropping 30+ points and Draymond only giving me 2. That’s a recipe for a lot of bad losses next season, similar to what we saw in those terrible losses to sub-par .500 teams this season (I’m mostly thinking of the games against the Magic, Hornets, Wizards, etc.).
My biggest offseason need has to be finding a veteran big man who can be a major impact on the glass and defensive end. The Warriors ranked 22nd in the NBA in rebounds per game (43.0) and 21st in points allowed (113.0). That’s simply unacceptable and the lack of size is a big reason for this. When Wiseman went down, I knew this season was going to end badly. Looney had his bright spots and Draymond played well at the 5 but it could only take us so far. Help at that position has to be a main priority.
Unfortunately, numerous other questions need to also be answered this offseason. Will Wiseman make strides this summer with his therapy (and can he be able to get any time in the summer league or even time to work out with Kevin Garnett and David West)? What will happen with the Minnesota draft pick? Is the best of Klay Thompson behind us? Will Curry go to the Tokyo Olympics? Can Bob Myers persuade some talent that will put the Warriors back in championship contention to come to the beautiful Bay Area?
I can’t wait for next season when we have all these answers. Thanks for reading everyone’s work here at WarriorsTalk and I look forward to watching another great year of Dubs basketball with you soon.
Arden Cravalho is a Sports Producer for 95.7 The Game and NBC Sports Bay Area... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho.