Golden State Warriors: Which teams stand in the way of a Three-Peat?
Who are the two teams that could stand in the way of a three-peat for the Golden State Warriors?
With the 2018-19 season only a few days away, the Golden State Warriors are still the team to beat in the NBA. After their acquisition of all-star center DeMarcus Cousins to their roster, the Warriors further bolstered their chances of being the first three-peat champions since the Kobe-Shaq Los Angeles Lakers achieved the feat.
Across the league, championship contenders are shaping up their rosters with the Warriors in mind, admittedly or not.
Despite the movement of players and restructuring of teams this offseason the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics stand the likeliest to contest with the Warriors.
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Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets have come the closest to toppling the Warriors, taking them to a deciding Game 7 in the Conference Finals but couldn’t build on home-court advantage as they missed 27 consecutive 3-pointers, going o-for-14 from 3 in the third quarter while their all-star guard Chris Paul couldn’t take part due to injury.
Although key defensive pieces from their run last season in Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute are no longer on the roster, the trio of Paul, Harden and Capella would still pose a problem for the Warriors.
When all three of them played together the teams records was 50-5, which needless to say is a formidable record, furthermore the addition of Carmelo Anthony provides extra spacing on the floor and an extra scoring option taking the pressure of Paul and Harden.
The Rockets bested everyone in wins last season (65) and without question would still remain a primary threat to the Warriors this season.
Boston Celtics
The young Boston Celtics core of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier took the Celtics all the way through to the Conference Finals against LeBron James and the Cavaliers, but fell short in a closely contested Game 7.
With the all-star Duo of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward fit and ready for the season (hopefully through the playoffs) the team stand a higher chance of making it through to the Finals.
The Celtics on the floor can boast of scoring options on the floor in Irving and Hayward, while defensively they also possess athletic pieces which can switch seamlessly across the floor. It is also worth noting that the Celtics have held to the Warriors to their lowest scoring efforts in the last two seasons.
The team can also boast of a strong bench with the likes of Marcus Morris, Aron Bynes, Semi Ojeleye and restricted free agent Marcus Smart, with all these pieces the Celtics can’t be overlooked as threats to the Warriors.