Notable additions: Nick Young, Omri Casspi
Key losses: Matt Barnes, Ian Clark
Record last season: 67-15, won NBA title
Head coach: Steve Kerr (fourth season)
(CNN Philippines) — How good are the Golden State Warriors?
With the way they have revolutionized the small-ball style of play in the game of the giants, this edition of the Warriors are undoubtedly the best-assembled National Basketball Association (NBA) squad that could reign supreme for the next couple of years.
No team has shot the ball as well as Golden State since Steph Curry and Klay Thompson took the league by storm as the ‘Splash Brothers’ in 2013.
Curry and Thompson were the top two players in the league with the most three-point shots made in the 2016-2017 season with 324 and 268, respectively.
To that effect, the Warriors also led the NBA in field goal shooting for the last three years with an average of 48.6 percent. The Los Angeles Clippers came in at second with 46.6 percent, while the Houston Rockets wound up at third with 45.2 percent.
Helping Curry and Thompson are perennial All-Stars Kevin Durant and Draymond Green who are expected to continue their high-octane offense. They had a league-best 115.9 points average last season.
Golden State has added depth to its bench after signing role player Nick Young who will play alongside Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, JaVale McGee, and David West.
But this year will be tougher for them as their Western Conference foes Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder have reloaded their rosters during the offseason.
The Rockets got All-Star point guard Chris Paul to play with James Harden in what could become as one of the deadliest back court duos in the last decade.
The Thunder formed their new ‘Big 3’ following the acquisition of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony who are obviously ready to shoot the lights out with reigning Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook.
On the other side of the continent, Eastern Conference powerhouse squads Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics have improved their lineups just to keep in step with their West counterparts.
READ: Cavs, Celtics battle for East supremacy
The Warriors and the Cavs have battled one another for three straight years in the NBA Finals.
Michael Jordan, considered the greatest basketball player of all time, recently said that having these two ‘superteams’ mean there are going to be 28 ‘garbage’ teams out of the 30-squad league.
Is the six-time NBA champ correct? Or will there be a plot twist this time around?
Golden State opens its title-retention bid against the Rockets on October 18 (Philippine time) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
