Turns out the Golden State Warriors know what they're doing. They let a number of last season's key supporting players go on to more prominent roles on other teams, but made judicious choices to replace them on the roster. The Warriors opened the new season with a convincing win over the Lakers, with solid contributions by 10 or 11 players.
The Warriors now have the luxury (for which they are paying alot in luxury tax) of an established core of mostly veteran stars, plus a host of very young players with enormous potential. Some may falter, but others may very well be stars in the future, and a couple might come close to that this season.
Coach Steve Kerr, who as a player and coach has been part of several teams that won multiple championships, including back-to-backs, said that a championship team with dynastic potential often gets better the year after a championship (it gets much harder after that.) This makes perfect sense, for the teams that won their championship with a solid lineup, and not (as some have) as the result more of luck, including key injuries to their opponents.
Every team needs luck to win the championship, but everyone knew that last year's Warriors were contenders. Now they are champs, starting the season with all their starters healthy. They may well prove to be a better team this year than last. The league is highly competitive, but Golden State in a number of ways has proven to be the gold standard of the NBA.
