With the Warriors in disarray, which Western Conference teams could step up in their absence amongst the contenders?
Rumors that the Golden State Warriors‘ dynasty might be at an end coming into the 2019-20 NBA season may not be unfounded after all. Stephen Curry‘s broken hand suffered in the third quarter of a 121-110 beatdown at the hands of the Suns only compounds the problems the Warriors have had early on this season as they fall to 1-4.
After losing Kevin Durant to Brooklyn and Klay Thompson to injury coming into the season, the Warriors took the offseason to bring in young perimeter players to fill some of the statistical holes left by their missing pieces. These young players have struggled offensively in the early going, ranking 27th in the league in effective field goal percentage.
Without Curry in the lineup for a while, it will be up to Draymond Green and the young role players on the Warriors to step up and fix the offense. Until that happens, the Warriors’ struggles present an opportunity for several fringe playoff contenders to put themselves in a much better position in regard to grabbing a playoff spot come April.