Many people thought that the absence of star Stephen Curry would help the Golden State Warriors have more fresh changes, because the style of the NBA champion team is too dependent on the 34-year-old player.
Stephen Curry became the fulcrum of the defending champion, so much so that it was thought that as long as the other players defended well and passed all the ball to Curry, the Golden State Warriors could win.
Golden State Warriors (white shirt) had a lot of trouble defending the title
Last season, the Warriors had the second-best defense in the league. But at the moment, the defending champion is ranked 25th in terms of defense. The main cause of the decline was due to a series of good players such as Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica must sit on the bench. Besides, Iguodala – one of the best defenders of the past 25 years – has yet to play this season.
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In the past 26 seasons, only two teams outside the top 10 defensively have been able to win the championship: the Lakers (2000-01 season) ranked 22nd and Warriors (season 2017-18) ranked 11th in terms of defending. defensive ability.
The Warriors won’t be able to make it to the playoffs if they don’t regain some of the advantage they got from last season and improve their defence. And the upcoming game against the Memphis Grizzlies will be a turning point for the reigning NBA champion to find himself.