Prior to the 2019-20 NBA season going on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Golden State Warriors season was decided. With the league’s worst record at 15-50, the Warriors became the first team eliminated from the 2020 postseason dance. With the NBA’s restart looming, the Warriors are one of eight teams on the outside of the Orlando bubble.
For the first time since 2013, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the rest of the Golden State Warriors will be watching the playoffs from home.
Although they won’t have the chance to make a sixth consecutive run at the NBA Finals, Warriors general manager Bob Myers believes the Orlando postseason could serve as motivation in Golden State. In an interview with Joe Fortenbaugh, Dan Dibley and former NFL fullback Lorenzo Neal on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, Myers said members of the Warriors would feel “not being part of the party.”
Via 95.7 The Game in San Francisco:
I think it’ll be hard for our guys to watch this thing go. I think it’s easier now because the playoffs haven’t started, and the Orlando thing is just still getting off the ground. But as competitors, again I’ll go back to Lo, when you’re used to being in the playoffs and you’re not part of that party — you feel that. Our guys will feel that. I think they’ll watch some of the playoffs and it will motivate them.
Listen to the full interview with Bob Myers on 95.7 The Game here.
A healthy Curry and Thompson paired with Green and a top-five draft pick will give the Warriors a solid foundation to build a roster that points towards playoff contention. With their extended offseason, Golden State will have time to study what they need to fill the gaps around their core in efforts to make another run at the NBA Finals.
[lawrence-related id=29371,29558,28273,26458,29431]
[vertical-gallery id=29502]