Kurtenbach: Two timelines? Lame. The Warriors will have three amid their
title defense
Golden State Warriors: Steph Curry and the Warriors veterans are no
strangers to defending their titles, but the Warriors' depth is
significantly different than defense campaigns past.
>SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JANUARY 18: Golden State Warriors head coach
Steve Kerr talks with Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga (00) in
the fourth quarter of their NBA game against the Detroit Pistons at
Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (Ray
Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JANUARY 18: Golden State Warriors head coach Steve
Kerr talks with Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga (00) in the
fourth quarter of their NBA game against the Detroit Pistons at Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (Ray
Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: September 22, 2022 at 1:58 p.m. | UPDATED: September 22, 2022
at 2:03 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/09/22/kurtenbach-two-timelines-lame-the-warriors-will-have-three-amid-their-title-defense/

SAN FRANCISCO — Post-championship hangovers are real.

The Warriors, having won four titles since 2015, know this as well as
anyone.

And a big part of the hangover is how little time there is between
winning that title and starting the defense of it.

It seems as if the NBA Finals just ended in Boston — Steph Curry’s
“Petty King” summer tour is still in full swing — but on Saturday, the
Warriors will officially practice for the first time in preparation of
their 2022-23 season and a chance to repeat at champions in nine months.

For the Warriors’ veterans, this experience is commonplace.

But this go-around should be quite different for the Dubs.

Last season, the Warriors were had “two timelines” — young and old.

It was tough to manage, though Golden State did it in the best way
possible — winning it all.

So why not add another? This season, the Warriors will be managing three
timelines.

There are the grey hairs: the Warriors’ 30-something core players. Then
there are the experienced guys: players in the middle of their careers
that are well established in their roles. Finally, the Warriors have the
kids: players unestablished in this league and, in some cases, not
allowed to legally drink.

It’s a strong formula, no doubt, but it’s a strange brew, too.

“I think what makes this [title defense] different is the prevalence of
youth on our roster,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Thursday. “After
you get past our first six, plus Dante and JaMychal, you’re really
looking at a young group — basically first- and second-year guys, which
is exciting, but also daunting because you don’t just show up in this
league and win.”

The Warriors, of course, did just show up and win for years. At points,
they were so much better than every other team, they saw little need to
prove it on a nightly basis outside the playoffs.

There will be no such coasting this season.

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“There’s a lot of competition out there,” Kerr said. “We’re one of the
teams that’s in the mix, and that’s exciting, but we got to start over.
It doesn’t just automatically happen from one year to the next.”

And a huge part of that work will be with the young and even younger
players.

Are you ready to feel old?

The Warriors have five players born this century expected to make their
regular-season roster. These kiddos make Jordan Poole — 23 and in his
third year in the league — look like an old, grizzled veteran.

“This is not 30 years ago where Patrick Ewing places for years at
Georgetown or Tim Duncan plays four years for Wake Forest… guys who are
ready to roll right away,” Kerr said of the youth on this Warriors’ team.

Some of those Warriors youngsters are NBA champions themselves. Jonathan
Kuminga and Moses Moody played in the NBA Finals last season, albeit
sparingly and mostly in blowouts.

Kerr isn’t concerned about that milestone getting to the duo’s heads.

“I think players are all very aware that within the team goal of winning
a championship, there’s the individual career path. And it’s something
that we try to really harp on, the more that you do for the team, the
more the game rewards you,” Kerr said. “It’s not an easy lesson to learn
as a young guy, especially if you’re not playing a whole lot. It’s a
little bit of a paradox, too. People get paid in this league for playing
a lot of minutes and scoring a lot of points… But there’s no doubt that
the experience of last year: going through the playoffs, getting some
playing time for Jonathan and Moses, feeling it on the court but also
observing the whole process of getting through the journey. It will all
be very helpful.”

Then there are the true rookies — Patrick Baldwin and Ryan Rollins — and
the team’s sort-of rookie — James Wiseman.

The 7-footer — the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft — has played
39 NBA games, all in his rookie season. The Warriors need to find out
what he can do in this campaign. He’ll be given ample opportunity to play.

As for Baldwin and Rollins, their roles are to be determined. Warriors
general manager Bob Myers said Thursday that he expected Baldwin to
spend plenty of time with the Warriors’ minor-league affiliate in Santa
Cruz, but that could change before the start of the season.

“Steve’s gonna probably play a lot of guys,” Myers said. “And there’s
after the sixth guy… it’s kind of who takes it. Is he going to take it?
I don’t know. But there’s an opportunity for him, if he can take advantage.”

But even with the Warriors’ brass’ well-founded confidence in their new
kids, the overarching truth remains that if Curry, Klay Thompson, or
Draymond Green want to take a night off — literally or passively —
there’s no massive safety net for the Dubs.

Talent? The Warriors’ depth has that in spades. Experience? Not so much.

And you have to put the two together to win in this league.

“Steph, Klay, it took those guys a few years to really learn how to win.
They will be the first to tell you that. I think our young guys have a
lot to learn,” Kerr said. “There’s going to be some learning curve for
sure… It’s not going to be smooth sailing all the time.