Apologies for the lack of posting — work has been interfering, and will for at least another week. But I at least had to get a quick season projection in.

Like most Warriors fans, I’m cautiously optimistic about what this team could accomplish — yet extremely worried about injuries.

If healthy — and that’s a BIG “if” — this team will be substantially better than what we saw at the start of last season. They now have good size at every position, quality depth, and some players who can actually contribute defensively.

They key to everything is Bogut, who will make this a different team whenever he’s on the court. He in turn should make David Lee much better, as he can cover Lee’s defensive shortcomings somewhat while setting him up with passes on the offensive end. But he has to play.

Second up in terms of importance is Curry. With his new extension (which seems at first glance to make sense to both sides), it’s time for him to turn the corner and finally show the play he’s teased us with over the past three years on a consistent basis.

And what to expect from Klay Thompson? With predictions ranging from 18ppg to continued defensive liability, to me he’s the biggest wildcard outside of the injury bug.

The draft first-round draft picks should also contribute: Barnes is looking more like a potential star than a bust or even rotation filler, though of course we’ve yet to see him in a single real game; and Ezeli will be contributing major minutes throughout the season (though in some ways out of necessity). And with Rush, Landry, and Jack available off the bench, this team might avoid burning out its starters by the end of the season for the first time in recent memory.

As others have noted, the Warriors have a chance to be an above-average team playing “normal” basketball for the first time in years. Provided Jackson and Malone put quality game plans together (something they never quite proved last year), there’s only one reason this team shouldn’t contend.

So that brings us back to the injuries. In particular, how many games can we expect from Bogut and Curry? Recent news sounds promising, though Bogut’s delayed return and Curry’s recent ankle scare shows just how fine of a line this team will be walking this year.

As a result, I’ll offer two projections based on games played for these two. A bit of a cop-out I know, but they really do represent two completely different teams. So here we go:

If Bogut and Curry played more than 120 combined games: 44-38, 7th seed in the playoffs

If Bogut and Curry play fewer than 120 combined games: 36-46, at least 5 games out of the playoffs

Posted by Mike in Warriors