3 reasons the Golden State Warriors will not win the title

Golden State</a> Warriors have won three of the last seven titles in the NBA. They went to five straight NBA Finals. The core of those teams – Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala – are all on this year’s Golden State squad. Sitting at fourth in the Western Conference, they deserve to be part of the title conversation.</p> <p>That wasn’t necessarily the case when the season opened, but then the Warriors ripped off a 19-3 start and were still 29-7 as recently as January 3rd. They demonstrated once again to the league that they were a force to be reckoned with. Curry was, for much of the season, the MVP frontrunner.</p> <h2>The Golden State Warriors are looking to regain their status as NBA champions, but here are 3 reasons why they will not win the 2022 title</h2> <p>Then the losses started to stack up. Klay Thompson returned from injury right when Draymond Green exited for a two-month absence. No sooner was Green back than Stephen Curry went out with a foot injury, one he is yet to return from with a handful of games left in the season. Wobbling without Green and floundering without Curry have led to a 48-28 record, still fourth in the West, but only a couple of games above sixth.</p> <p>Do the Warriors still deserve to be considered a title contender? Yes; their collective experience, star power, and deep roster demand it. Will the Warriors win the title? That’s a harder question; it’s absolutely possible, but they can’t be considered the favorite right now. Let’s go bold and assume failure to unpack the weaknesses of this squad’s title hopes: 3 reasons the Warriors will not win the title.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/31/golden-state-warriors-not-win-title/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Lack of chemistry </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_352011" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="wp-image-352011 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/31/golden-state-warriors-not-win-title/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1149697348.jpeg" alt="Golden State Warriors" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1149697348.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1149697348-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – MAY 16: Stephen Curry #30, Klay Thompson #11 and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors celebrate after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 114-111 in game two of the NBA Western Conference Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 16, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>3 reasons Golden State Warriors will not win the title: Lack of chemistry</h2> <p>The first reason the Golden State Warriors will not win the title is a lack of chemistry.</p> <p>On the surface, that statement seems strange, if not outright insane. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson have logged thousands of minutes on the court together, and along with Andre Iguodala, they have won three titles and went to five-straight NBA Finals. Lack of chemistry? They have Tom Holland and Zendaya in Spider-Man levels of chemistry!</p> <p>That might be true, but the reality is that there is no proof. Curry, Thompson, and Green have played just 11 minutes together in the past three seasons. Iguodala hasn’t appeared in a single game with all three of them in just as long. With Curry out until close to the playoffs, if not the playoffs themselves, there isn’t time for that chemistry to be reignited.</p> <p>That doesn’t even factor in the chemistry of the rest of the roster, of whom only Kevon Looney knows what it is like to play with them all. Andrew Wiggins was an All-Star player this season, a key part of their core, and yet he has played 0 possessions with those three. Jordan Poole has played just 14, Jonathan Kuminga only five.</p> <p>The postseason is just five games away, and the Warriors haven’t even seen what their playoff rotation looks like together. These players will be shaking off the rust and introducing themselves from a basketball sense <em>after</em> the playoffs have started. They won’t win the title, in part because of a lack of chemistry.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/31/golden-state-warriors-not-win-title/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Leaning on Rookies </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_443574" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="wp-image-443574 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/31/golden-state-warriors-not-win-title/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1386315537.jpeg" alt="Golden State Warriors" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1386315537.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1386315537-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 16: Jonathan Kuminga #00 of the Golden State Warriors looks on in the first quarter against the Boston Celtics at Chase Center on March 16, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>3 reasons Golden State Warriors will not win the title: Leaning on Rookies</h2> <p>Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA title with a trimmed-down rotation of seven, sometimes eight players. That included players throughout their late 20s and 30s, and exactly “0” players on rookie contracts.</p> <p>Other recent champions may have had a couple of younger pieces, but none had a rookie in a key rotation role. One has to go back to the 2016-17 Warriors to find a rookie in the rotation of a champion – Patrick McCaw with 12.1 minutes per game.</p> <p>This time around Jonathan Kuminga is in a key role, perhaps starting at the four and at the least playing significant minutes off of the bench. Fellow rookie Moses Moody is having an excellent season developing into a role player on the wing; whether that is a stepping stone to a higher ceiling, he is ready to contribute right now.</p> <p>Few title contenders have a rookie lottery pick on their team, let alone two. They don’t have to try to integrate highly-talented rookies for a postseason run unlike anything they have ever experienced. It’s a lot to handle – the grind, the physicality, the speed, the relentlessness – and neither of these players has been battle-tested. Nor has Jordan Poole, who hasn’t been to the playoffs in his short career.</p> <p>The ship has sailed on moving the rookies for another player, and owner Joe Lacob is adamant that <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/31/golden-state-warriors-not-win-title/2/"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10031097-iguodala-warriors-kind-of-disrespecting-curry-thompson-green-with-younger-roster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Warriors are going to play both sides</a> – winning now and setting themselves up to win later. Will it work? History tells us… probably not.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/31/golden-state-warriors-not-win-title/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Heading for a hard road </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_443294" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="wp-image-443294 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/31/golden-state-warriors-not-win-title/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2089,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1345436684.jpeg" alt="Golden State Warriors" width="3200" height="2089" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1345436684.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1345436684-768x501.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets stands next to Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors during their game at Chase Center on October 06, 2021 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>3 reasons Golden State Warriors will not win the title: Heading for a hard road</h2> <p>The Warriors’ struggles over the past couple of months may simply be the result of their myriad of injuries. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green may step perfectly back into their mind-meld of killing teams on both ends of the floor. Even so, the hits in the loss column have put them in a disadvantageous position, and it may only get worse.</p> <p>If the Warriors had hung on to the second seed, they would have had an easier first-round matchup (the play-in winner instead of either the Denver Nuggets or Utah Jazz, most likely). Then they have to go on the road to start a series with the Memphis Grizzlies, with a potential Game 7 in Memphis.</p> <p>It gets worse if the Warriors slip any further. As of Wednesday morning 3/30, the Warriors are one game up on the Dallas Mavericks, and just two games up on the Jazz and Nuggets. A clunker of a finish to the season could see them as low as sixth, and finishing in the 4-5 matchup is extremely likely; that means a tough opening round but then a brutal second-round showdown with the Phoenix Suns before even reaching the Conference Finals.</p> <p>The Golden State Warriors have talent, experience, and a true superstar; they could absolutely win it all. Yet injuries have led to a lack of chemistry, a reliance on rookies, and a tough playoff path will all combine to hold them back. The Warriors are not winning the NBA title.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="NBA MVP Ladder Week 24" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/30/nba-mvp-ladder-week-24/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/31/golden-state-warriors-not-win-title/2/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/30/nba-mvp-ladder-week-24/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> NBA MVP Ladder Week 24 </a> </div> </div><!—pageview_candidate—>">