The CSL

Warriors Prepare for New Season


Fans are excited in GS!

We've already written many times about the draft and the offseason moves the Golden State Warriors have made, but reality is about to finally set in for the organization that has been busy for many months. With preseason just around the corner, the Warriors front office, coaches, and players are all ready for that first tip-off. Many questions surround the upcoming season, mainly due to the league rule changes. However, the Warriors have even more questions as only a handful of players from last seasons team are back. Since we've already covered the majority of the offseason moves, lets quickly take a look at how training camp went in the Bay Area.

Training Camp
With a young roster, the Warriors knew training camp was going to be important, and to be honest, it didn't disappoint. New rookies Coby White and Zhaire Smith both had fairly good camps, and other young players across the roster made some gains. Here are some of the notable increases across the roster (did not include Endurance for any players, or shooting for rookies):

PJ Dozier - +2 FT, +1 SCR, +1 PAS, +1 DEF, +1 STL = +6

Thomas Welsh - +4 FT, +1 SCR, +1 PAS, +3 ORB, +2 DRB, +2 DEF, +1 BLK, +2 STL, +1 DIS, +2 IQ = +19

Coby White - +2 SCR, +5 PAS, +8 HDL, +2 DEF, +2 BLK, +2 STL, +1 DIS, +3 IQ = +25

Zhaire Smith - +6 PAS, +7 HDL, +2 ORB, +2 DEF, +3 STL, +1 DI, +4 IQ = +25

Ignas Brazdeikis - +1 SCR, +4 PAS, +3 ORB, +1 DEF, +4 BLK, +1 STL, +1 DIS = +15

Chimezie Metu - +6 SCR, +1 PAS, +5 DRB, +1 DEF, +3 BLK = +16

Dillon Brooks - +1 SCR, +1 HDL, +1 DRB, +1 ORB, +2 DEF, +1 STL = +7

The most notable jumps include the passing and handling ability of both first round picks in White and Smith. Both players actually look like they are capable point guards now, which was a surprise for Zhaire Smith. The Warriors brought in Damian Lillard with the idea Smith would mainly play at shooting guard this season. That will probably still be the case, but without a clear 3rd string point guard on the roster, Smith now allows the Warriors to forego signing a free agent. The other plus in training camp was seeing Chimezie Metu once again have a scoring bump. He was a +10 boost last year, and now he's up another 6 points as he continues to progress into a possible scoring threat as a big man around the basket. Of course, seeing his rebounding and defense increase as well is great for the Warriors who see him as the future pillar on the defensive end.

With the young guys progressing and some key veterans joining the roster this season, the Warriors have an interesting and versatile roster coming into opening night. Though no rotations are set in stone, the main 9 guys to see action at the beginning of the season include:

Guards: PJ Dozier, Coby White, Damian Lillard, Zhaire Smith

Forwards: Henry Ellenson, Klay Thompson, Chimezie Metu

Centers: Nerlens Noel, Enes Kanter

Other players like Dillon Brooks, Thomas Welsh, and Ignas Brazdeikis will all be fighting for minutes and may play key roles should injuries arise.

It's tough to say where the Warriors will finish this year after going 34-48 last season. They knew it would be an exciting year with the young guys, but after bringing in the likes of Lillard, Thompson, and Kanter, the Warriors will be a more competitive team. There's no doubt a lot of the focus will still be on giving the young players minutes, but those three veterans fill voids on the roster in a positive way. From a financial perspective, the Warriors still have a lot of flexibility and will continue to adjust as the season unfolds.

Let's go!

This team has a very interesting mix of young guns, and well established vets. I am extremely curious to see which direction are you going to take, as on paper it looks like it has the talent to sneak into the 8th seed.

Glad to see your rookies develop a good bit as that will help you a lot this season. You have a very young, but pretty talented team so I don't think you're going to be in the cellar like this team has been in the past. I don't think you're making the playoffs, but if you can net some more talent through trades and another off-season you won't be far away.

Treat Klay well

This team could be a dark horse for that 8th seed

Noel is great if you have a dominant rebounder next to him. Dozier is probably the player with the most impact. Also curious to see which role Lillard and Thompson end up having during the season. Ellenson is another interesting player who could be very useful in the new engine.

mgtr81 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 6:08 pm Noel is great if you have a dominant rebounder next to him. Dozier is probably the player with the most impact. Also curious to see which role Lillard and Thompson end up having during the season. Ellenson is another interesting player who could be very useful in the new engine.

At this stage, our initial thinking is Lillard will come off the bench and provide that scoring punch, especially when Dozier/Ellenson sub out. White should be our starter on Day 1 as we're realistic and developing our young guys is the key this season.

Thompson meanwhile may start for us. White and Dozier aren't shooters per say, so we may want to have his 3 pt shooting in the lineup.

Andrewu91 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 23, 2020 11:42 pm This team could be a dark horse for that 8th seed

This

I think it is a really interesting mixture and with so many teams in the west rebuilding the Warriors could sneak into the playoffs already.

Lillard and Klay were fantastic signings and I could see both netting a 1st rounder at the deadline when contenders are looking to bolster their chances at a ring. You didn't move any core pieces and stayed patient so kudos.

Im torn. Still not sure if I should be a fan or not of that core. Going by DDS3 measures, I would say yes. Regarding 19 I just don’t know enough yet and think that team could work solidl. Dozier and Ellenson is one of my fav pairings in the wings in the entire league. Just not sure about white and Smith. Smith is a super super awful shooter and will lose you more games than win them. So if he can’t turned into a pass first guy, he’s gonna a horrible brick machine that will kill all his value. But that’s the case for most rookies.
Coby white i somehow have remembered as another player unable to hit much. So if you have two of them plus dozier, who is inside only, it’s gonna be tough to win much in a shooting driven engine. Not sure if klay and lillard can save the show with their 3s to make up for zhaire, white and co

Glad to see your rookies got such a ratings boost. I'll be watching the Warriors! Bring them more success than I could...please!

Great training camp from the young Dubs and hopefully you can move some of those veterans for something/anything before the deadline to improve this team's future!