Players optimistic, but know a repeat is tough
Before you enter the Warriors’ training facility from the main hallway, you pass four new banners — including one representing last season’s championship.
Once you’re in the gym, you’re struck by three 10foot-by-40-foot panoramic panels that display indelible images of the Warriors’ players celebrating the 2015 title.
There are memory-joggers about the Warriors’ 2014-15 season everywhere, and most of the players don’t bet the reminders will stop anytime soon. On a
nightly basis, they expect to get opponents’ best shots as the Warriors try to defend their NBA crown.
“It’s probably going to get worse, where everybody is going to be gunning for us. There are going to be no nights off. Everybody wants to beat you,” power forward Draymond Green said at Monday’s Media Day, an afternoon before the Warriors open training camp. “Anytime you win a championship, you just have to make sure that everybody stays hungry. I don’t think that’ll ever be a problem on this team.
“We’re still hungry because we know we have a lot more that we can accomplish and a lot more that we want to accomplish.”
Klay Thompson agrees with head coach Steve Kerr that winning a title takes some weight off your shoulders, but the shooting guard doesn’t believe that will change the Warriors’ mind-set.
“We won’t be complacent, I’ll tell you that. Our guys on this team are too competitive,” he said. “We’ve chased that feeling of winning, and we’re kind of addicted to it. …
“We love having the target on our back. Now, when you go to these arenas, the Warriors are the best show in town. We don’t take that for granted. We want to have those eyes on us. We want that pressure, but we know winning back-to-back will be much harder than winning the first one.”
Repeating as NBA champions appears to be getting more difficult. The Lakers repeated in 1987-88, Detroit did it in 1989-90, Chicago won three straight, 1991-93, Houston went back-toback in 1994-95 and Chicago won three more, 199698.
From 1998 through 2014, only two franchises pulled off the feat. The Lakers won three straight (200002) and two more in 200910, and Miami repeated in 2012-13.
“We’ve obviously set up and established a system of how we’re going to play and the personnel we have is pretty much the same as last year,” point guard Stephen Curry said. “There is not going to be much change there, but we can’t just say: ‘We’re going to be the same team’ and show up and win 67 games and win a championship. It’s not going to be easy.
“It’s going to be about doing what we do well and doing it better and being as consistent as possible on both ends of the floor.”
Even though the Warriors are bringing back 12 of the 15 men from a young roster that won 67 regularseason games in 2014-15, they didn’t get most of the headlines this offseason.
The major buzz was around the reloading of the Spurs, Clippers and Rockets and the returning to health of the Cavaliers and Thunder.
“We’re champs, so they’ve got to come for us,” reserve big man Marreese Speights said. “We don’t have any pressure. Nobody is picking us to win this year, so we’ve got confidence already about that.”
Center Andrew Bogut said the Warriors can use that bulletin-board material as motivation, just like last season.
“I think last season was: ‘The Warriors are a regular-season team, and they’re not going to do anything in the playoffs.’ We heard that all year. … It’s the same this season. All of a sudden, we’re not a top dog anymore, which is fine. I think it’s better and more motivation for us.”