Golden State had a very troubled title defending season last year: Green punched Poole in training camp, Klay showed up out of shape to start the season, and Wiggins was away from the team for a while due to personal reasons.
The Warriors were eventually eliminated by the Lakers in the playoffs in a series where their lack of physicality was exposed by a stronger Lakers unit. The Warriors were an extreme team at every level. They were the fourth worst road team in the entire league, they committed too many and they did not go to the FT line often. Their defense was even out of the top 10 in the league, an area that used to be one of their main strengths during this Steve Kerr era.
2023/24 OUTLOOK:
Golden State looked like a team out of control quite often last season. Maybe due to that (and certainly for financial reasons as well), the team traded away Poole, who had an awful season after signing a new contract and he is now being replaced in the team by Chris Paul. It will be interesting to see what will be the team’s new lineup for this season. If CP3 is starting then the team will continue to struggle with their lack of overall size, a common problem in the team’s lineups that would only be worsened with another PG on the floor.
I believe the most likely scenario will be for Paul to come off the bench and this could solve a chronic issue of Golden State as they normally fall apart every time Curry goes to the bench. With Paul now on the team, the Warriors should start running a lot more run pick and roll plays, something that normally did not do in the past (#30 in vol% last season).
The other new face on the team for this season is Dario Saric, who has already played alongside CP3 in Phoenix. Golden State can be a powerhouse in the West if their young players Kuminga and Moody develop into legit rotation players. The Warriors will also need to go back to being a top 10 defensive team as their lack of size never prevented them from being one in the past, but their lack of discipline last season certainly did.