Warriors sailing into season with talent, laughs

There is one question that matters when it comes to the Warriors, and it isn’t, “Will they win another championship?” The answer likely is “yes,” at least if common consensus, recent precedent and the Vegas line are to be believed. It’s not complicated. Just look at the roster. One thing that might be open to deeper scrutiny however, is how we are supposed to view these Warriors as the organization heads into its bid for a fourth title in five seasons. Are they cocky, or are they fun? Or are they both? We know they’re having fun, that much is clear from a preseason campaign that ended Friday night and produced one win and precisely zero concern about that fact. For the Warriors there has been no reason to worry. No chemistry issues to fret over. No rework of the system. No overhaul. Just business as usual. The warm-up games heading into the campaign that begins Tuesday have become little more than gentle shakeouts and the chance for a bit of levity. Coach Steve Kerr got himself tossed for arguing with the referees against the Suns and seemed to enjoy the experience immensely, as did his players. Kevin Durant was relaxed enough to walk off the court after an offensive foul against the Lakers on Wednesday because he had to “go pee,” ultimately fouling out after 24 minutes of action with a beaming smile on his face. The Warriors are chilled. That’s what happens when you were the best already and just got better. Golden State was stocked and stacked, then had DeMarcus Cousins rock up to join the party and take a pay cut for the privilege. Steph Curry and his pals give off the aura of a team that has nothing to fear, and, in all honesty, they might be right. Is that cocky, or is it the byproduct of having been utterly dominant for long enough that the word dynasty is not out of place? Chances are, your mind already is made up. It is sometimes teams filled with controversial bad boys who are the most divisive, but the Warriors split opinion just by being themselves. They are not hard to like and there are many who enjoy the shtick, the smiles, the humblebrag lightheartedness and the showy antics, reasoning that a sprinkling of stardust lighting up the league is no bad thing. For some, their crime is simple. They win too much. Familiarity can breed contempt, or annoyance at least. When your team is fighting its heart out to avoid a losing record it probably isn’t much fun to glance across at a group cruising through the season and grinning all the while. Purely in the name of variety, there is no shortage of neutrals who would be more than happy to see new faces in the Finals and a fresh name on the trophy. Just don’t count on it. Under Kerr, the Warriors are as strong as ever and might be acting now under some kind of presumed deadline. Durant might well be in his last year as a Warrior, while Klay Thompson also will be out of contract at the end of the season and Draymond Green’s deal expires a year after that. Kerr still is there and feeling rejuvenated enough after years of back trouble that he accepted a role assisting Gregg Popovich on Team USA duty the next two summers. The Warriors are aware of it too. Thompson went as far as to speculate how five Warriors could potentially start for the national team, which tells you all you need to know about his level of belief in himself and his teammates. So where are the cracks? Overconfidence might be the most realistic weak spot, and there were signs of it last season, when games against lowly opposition often saw a sleepy response, an early deficit, before just enough effort to ensure a “W.” It made the Warriors look more vulnerable than normal heading into the postseason, but different rules apply when you are packed with such ability. If anything, Golden State had kept something in reserve, enough juice to come back from a 3-1 deficit against the Rockets after finding themselves in a hole in the Western Conference finals. They smiled then, too. “Joy isn’t being silly,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said in explaining how he’s tried to replicate Kerr’s fun-filled methods. “Joy is having fun while you’re doing the work so it doesn’t feel like work.” The Warriors are doing work even when it doesn’t look like it, smiling while presenting an infuriating barrier to the dreams of many. It is a different kind of intimidation, but it is intimidation nevertheless.

KYLE TERADA/USA TODAY Like many of the Warriors in the preseason, Kevin Durant, left, and DeMarcus Cousins have been mostly all smiles, despite going 1-4.