The Golden State Warriors are the cream of the crop in the NBA today. The already stacked Warriors squad added Kevin Durant this past summer, and now many believe they’ll run the table this season. Los Angeles Lakers legend, James Worthy, however, recently explained how his old “Showtime” squad would’ve beaten the star-studded Warriors of today.
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According to Worthy, who spoke with Charles Curtis of For The Win, it would all come down to defense:
“If you’re Steph Curry, you’re going to have to guard me or Magic Johnson, there’s no other way around it. We put in lineups to expose you on the other end. Then we bring in a guy like Michael Cooper, who’s the “minister of defense,” Byron Scott was another one. If we played the way we played, which was physical and clean but tough, I just don’t think it would be a contest.”
Hypothetical scenarios between teams of past and present are nothing more than debatable topics. There’s no way to find out what would really happen on the basketball floor between the “Showtime” Lakers and the incredibly talented Warriors team dominating the Western Conference these days.
At this point in the 2016-17 NBA season, the Warriors are living up to the expectations of the “superteam” they’ve built in the Bay Area. Golden State has found their stride after a few early-season bumps in the road and are now sitting atop of the NBA with a 25-4 record.
As for the Lakers, Luke Walton has helped changed the culture following a 17-win season, but there’s a lot of work left to be done in Los Angeles.
After a promising start in which the Lakers actually beat the Warriors and other talented teams like the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks (twice), Oklahoma City Thunder, and Chicago Bulls, injuries have become a common occurrence and consistency, especially on the defensive end of the floor, has been hard to come by with the team having lost 20 games thus far.