Stephen Curry ready to lead Warriors back to the NBA playoffs with focus on another title run

Golden State Warriors

Last season: Missed the playoffs as the 10th seed with a 46-36 record.

COACH: Steve Kerr (11th season, 519-274).

SEASON OPENER: Oct. 23 at Portland.

DEPARTURES: Klay Thompson is the biggest void Golden State will feel after Stephen Curry's Splash Brother departed for the Dallas Mavericks following 11 seasons and four championships with the Warriors.

ADDITIONS: G Buddy Hield, F Kyle Anderson, F Lamar Stevens, F Lindy Waters III, G De’Anthony Melton, two-way PG Reece Beekman, F Jackson Rowe.

BetMGM championship odds: 40-1

What to expect

Curry is coming off a spectacular finish to his first Olympics capturing gold with Kerr as his coach, and both are determined to return this team to championship form even with the void left by Thompson's deparature .Yes, the Warriors will miss Thompson but they are trying to focus on regrouping from last season’s disappointment with a determined young roster.

Golden State captured an NBA title in 2022 and certainly would like to make another championship run while several of its core players are still together — Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, who is determined for a bounce-back performance.

The Warriors made a strong push down the stretch last season but it was too late after some earlier struggles to protect home court.

“Every day does matter for us to be able to figure this thing out,” Curry said.

Strengths and weaknesses

The good: Curry. Even at 36, he is as dominant as ever and ignites crowds with his dazzling drives and 3-pointers from way, way back.

The not-so-good: A focus will be on playing better transition defense, so having Green and Gary Payton II healthy and getting more output on both ends from Wiggins will be a key to improving in that area as Kerr has emphasized.

Players to watch

The 31-year-old Hield joins his fourth team in as many years and will be called upon to take on a significant scoring load with Thompson now gone. Hield averaged 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists last season between Indiana and Philadelphia.

Both Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis were significant contributors as rookies so their development in Year 2 will go a long way in the Warriors' success, along with how much high-flying Jonathan Kuminga continues to grow.

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The Associated Press