Warriors hungry for fifth title as 2022-23 season begins

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SAN FRANCISCO – The fourth finger will be decorated Tuesday night, when Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson each step forward to accept the ring he has earned. Can they win one for the thumb?

The chase for another begins a few minutes after 7 p.m., when the Warriors tip off against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center. It’s NorCal vs. SoCal, Classic Elite vs. Nouveau Elite, Steph vs. LeBron.

Opening against an old nemesis is a perfect bit of scheduling kismet, as it stirs the senses and emotions from the jump.

The Warriors of recent vintage do their best work when provoked. The core trio entered the NBA to a chorus of naysayers and have kept those grievances in the pits of their stomachs. Tell them they can’t, and they grit their teeth to show you they can. They’re always committed to bringing proof, not to rub in anyone’s face but simply for everyone to know they have it.

And they’re being provoked again. After Golden State kicked the Celtics on their home court in the 2022 NBA Finals, Boston forward Grant Williams took a month to absorb defeat before rubbing himself in the ointment of denial, declaring the better team lost.

OK.

So, of course, the latest Las Vegas oddsmakers, by consensus, install the Celtics as favorites to win it all in 2023. The Warriors? Second best, followed by the Clippers, Bucks and Nets.

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OK.

There is the belief among some that this will be the last run for the Steph-Dray-Klay trio, together since 2012 and in the starting lineup since 2014.

“For us, this group, you don't know how many opportunities you have left to do it again,” Green conceded on media day. And so, because of that, you have to take advantage of the ones that you do know that you have. And for us, the ones that we know for certain that we have is this year.”

And, lastly, there is also rampant outside suspicion that their fabled culture, which has prevailed through crises of various proportions, finally will snap under the power of Draymond’s gallivanting emotions. That the first crack was his right fist into the face of his younger, smaller teammate Jordan Poole.

OK.

“We all have a goal to win a championship,” Green said upon rejoining the team after spending a week away. “And that is that.”

The Warriors are trying to reach the top with a unique roster composition, one with very clear lines between the veterans who have seen it all and their young apprentices selected to carry the collective torch.

This is Steve Kerr’s ninth season as head coach, and he might have his deepest roster. When everyone is healthy and available, at least seven players have the goods to provide meaningful minutes behind the starting five of Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney, Curry, Green and Thompson.

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The seven: Andre Iguodala, JaMychal Green, Donte DiVincenzo, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Poole – the last four all between the ages of 20 and 23.

“We’re seeing the future right in front of our eyes,” Thompson said a few days ago. “And then to have us veterans around, too, it’s got to be the most unique mix of young talent with old veterans that we’ve possibly ever seen.

“And these aren’t just decent young players. These guys have incredible potential. It gets everybody excited.”

The Warriors stunned the basketball world last season, winning 18 of their first 20 games – all with Klay still on the sidelines rehabbing. They were 29-7 in early January and 19-22 over the next 41 games before closing the season with five consecutive victories and riding that momentum into the postseason.

They were never healthier than in the playoffs, and with each member of the core trio moving into his mid-30s, health will be the most germane element again.

Assuming good health, the Warriors have enough to make another lengthy postseason run. They’ll need production from across the roster, particularly in the first month, as Kerr does not feel their conditioning is where it needs to be.

“I don’t think we’re ready to have our top five or six guys play 30-plus minutes a night,” he said Monday. “We’ve got to rely on our depth, not only opening night but for the first couple weeks. And that’s OK; we have a really deep team. We’ll get there eventually.”

Getting there, out of the Western Conference, means overcoming a new challenger, the revived, retooled and conceptually formidable Clippers, who regained Kawhi Leonard and added John Wall. The Nuggets will be a force, as will the Grizzlies and probably the Suns. The Pelicans reached the playoffs last season and look appreciably stronger.

“The greats stay hungry,” Thompson said on media day. “We all have our motivations for why we want to win another one. The guys coming back who have won it for their first time, I just know they want to experience that again.

And, for me personally, and probably Steph and Andre and Draymond, you think of the players who have won five championships, it's such a short list.

“To have the opportunity, just the opportunity, to be able to do that, is like so special.”

Five championships in nine seasons would be extraordinary, coming close to the Michael Jordan Bulls winning six in eight seasons and surpassing the best stretch of the Lakers, who won five in 11 seasons.

Yes, seeing LeBron and the Lakers on ring night feels as right as new love. Hype time. Let’s play.

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