When assessing potential challengers who could prevent the Los Angeles Lakers from defending their championship, one team who was looked at as extremely dangerous was the Golden State Warriors.
With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson returning from injury, and multiple assets to either develop or turn into other big pieces, many saw the Warriors returning to the NBA’s elite.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, and the NBA world as a whole, Thompson tore his Achilles in a workout and will miss the entire season for the second year in a row. It was extremely disappointing news as Thompson is one of the most beloved players in the entire league, and now puts even more pressure on Curry to lift his team.
But the two-time MVP isn’t backing down from the challenge. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Curry admitted it would be difficult, but expressed belief in the roster the Warriors have assembled:
“It’s going to be hard at first, for sure. We’ve been waiting seven months to get back out there,” Curry said. “Not seeing [Thompson] on the court, at first, is going to be weird. But I think we’ve done a really good job in the offseason with James and our draft picks and in the free agency pool to put together a really solid roster. We’re going to have to learn a lot really quickly, and we will need a full commitment from everybody.
Curry added he still believes the Warriors can compete with anyone and acknowledged they have to go through the Lakers:
“We know we can compete with anyone in the league. It’s kind of crazy. We know how great Klay is. Don’t get me wrong. But we hear the chatter. ‘It’s the end of for us. This year is a wash. What are we going to do in the future?’ But we are in the moment right now. It’s kind of refreshing being in that category as guys that are chasing. We know [the Los Angeles Lakers] are the defending champs. We got to beat them. We’re ready for it.”
This is the mindset one would expect from a player like Curry who is one of the most transcendent players in the history of the league. As long as Curry is healthy, he is going to believe that his team has a chance against anyone.
Losing Thompson makes the road even tougher, but Curry is going to do everything in his power to raise the Warriors back to the elite. Whether or not they can take over the re-tooled Lakers who made a ton of moves to defend the championship remains to be seen.
Lakers re-sign Markieff Morris
One of the latest moves the Lakers made was re-signing Markieff Morris to a one-year minimum contract. Morris was a huge part of the 2020 championship run and took on a much larger role in the playoffs as the Lakers moved away from their traditional centers.
Though his numbers don’t stand out, Morris provided a toughness and physicality the Lakers needed while also knocking down an outstanding 42% from 3-point range.
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