The Golden State Warriors were the Cinderella team in the playoffs a couple of seasons ago, but since they lost Baron Davis in the free agency to the Clippers, they weren't able to make the right move for the franchise. They put their future on the hands of three players: Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson and there are doubts that this core of players can carry the Warriors to high standards.

Last season the Warriors finished the season with a 29-53 record and the only good indicators were the development of the youngsters Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow. Head coach Don Nelson didn't give consistent minutes to their players and kept changing the starting lineup of the team in almost every game.

For this season, the biggest issue for the Warriors is...Stephen Jackson! Already in this off season, Stephen Jackson decided to open his mouth and request a trade and since then, he made several public appearances by re-saying his intentions. We don't know how this soup will end, but I will assume that Jackson will stay with the team. He is the team leader on the floor and last season he was the playmaker of the Warriors by averaging 6.5 assists per game - a career high. However at the same time, he committed 3.9 turnovers per game - leading the league in this ugly stat and despite scoring 20.7 points per game, he shot only 41.4 % from the field, so Jackson was able to have some nice offensive stats because of the wild Don Nelson's offensive system, as he averaged 16.9 shots per game. The problem for the Warriors is that they don't have a single player who has playmaking abilities and Don Nelson will have to must live with that.

Supposedly the franchise player of this team is Monta Ellis, but Ellis didn't have the best of the seasons last year. A bizarre moped accident in the off season allowed him to play just 25 games, but even when he was apparently healthy, he struggled to show the same kind of offensive efficiency he had displayed while playing alongside Baron Davis during the 2007-08 season. Now completely healthy for the start of this season, the Warriors expect Ellis to be the same kind of player of two seasons ago who averaged 20.2 points, while shooting .531 from the field. His quickness, explosiveness and fearless decisions when penetrating to the basket makes him a great scorer and a tough matchup for his opponents. Unfortunately, Monta Ellis can't offer much more to his team, as he has only 3.7 boards and 3.5 assists per game during his career.If he reaches his former form, the Warriors will be happy because Ellis is a perfect fit for the explosive Don Nelson's offensive octane system.

The Warriors drafted Stephen Curry as their 7th draft pick and Curry is a perfect fit for Don Nelson because of his scoring abilities and good range in his jump shot. Curry has the ability to be a great player in this league, however the Warriors have a similar player in their roster in...Monta Ellis! Both these players are terrifically good offensively, but both are first-shot kind of players and the Warriors lack a true playmaker who can make some passes, remember that basketball is a game where there is only one ball and Don Nelson must find a way for his team to pass the ball.

To complete the backcourt, the Warriors have two underrated guards in Kelenna Azubuike and Anthony Morrow. Azubuike took advantage of the minutes given by Don Nelson and made a solid season last year by shooting 46.4 % from the field and 44.8 % behind the arc. Meanwhile, Morrow was noticed in the league when he scored 37 points against the Clippers last season by connecting 15 of 20 from the field. He also led the league in 3-point percentage: 46.7 percent shooting behind the arc and when he received minutes from Nelson, he showed an incredible jump shot for an undrafted rookie. Already in this past summer league, he broke the scoring record of the league and so, we can expect him to have a good season if...Don Nelson finds minutes for him on his rotations.

Last season the Warriors had a mobile and versatile frontcourt, but they simply couldn't be aggressive and were constantly overpowered by their opponents. They were dead last in rebound margin in the league with a -5.05 differential per game and going for this season, it looks like these numbers won't change much because the Warriors remain with the same core of players for this season.
Anthony Randolph is the most skilled player of this unit and although he had a rookie season with some ups and downs (pretty natural when playing for Don Nelson), he showed some flashes that shows that he can be a terrific player while playing on a run and gun scheme. Last season when he received extended minutes from Nelson (in April), he logged 15.1 ppg and 10.6 rebounds per game! His speed will be a problem for his opponents, but at the same his body size will be a problem for him defensively when facing the powerful Power Forwards of this league.

Andris Biedrins enjoyed the best season of his career by averaging 11.9 ppg and 11.2 rebounds per game. However there is the doubt that if Biedrins played in a more traditional system, he wouldn't keep these kinds of numbers. Nevertheless, Biedrins developed into a good player and he is the only legit big man of the roster and we can expect him to be a double double machine once again this season.

Coming off the bench, the Warriors have in Corey Maggette their best player. However Maggette is a one dimensional player who only adds more offensive power to the team, in other departments he is a marginal player at best and the Warriors don't have a solid and deep bench. Ronny Turiaf, Mikki Moore and Brandan Wright will compete in the front and only Turiaf will receive solid minutes due to his hustle and passion for the game.

The Warriors don't appear to have the potential to be in the playoffs battle later on the season, but they still have a great home court advantage and when they are hot, these young players can be a nightmare for their opponents. However, they allow so many easy points (they were dead last defensively last season) that outscoring their opponents in every single game is a tough mission for a team. To make things even worse, Stephen Jackson demanded a trade and team chemistry is already a problem for them and the season is even yet to start. How Don Nelson will lead this team is going to be the pivotal question of this team this season.