Kurtenbach: Golden State Warriors lacking just one thing

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors have so much to be optimistic about heading into this season.

Former enemy Chris Paul is now a friend and his seamless integration with the blue and yellow makes you wonder why you hated the guy in the first place. Jonathan Kuminga looks poised to make a third-year leap. The rookies, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis look like seasoned veterans.

Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney are back, too.

Oh, and that Steph Curry guy is still running the show at Chase Center.

Boasting star power, veteran prowess, positional versatility, and serious depth, the Warriors have every reason to believe they can make up for last year’s embarrassing second-round exit and once against contend for a title — a fifth for Curry and the crew.

Hey, if nothing else, at least the preseason didn’t include a fistfight. That’s a good start.

But what these Warriors lack heading into the 2023-24 season — it opens Tuesday night against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns — is margin for error.

The Warriors are betting on competency (and Curry) to guide them back to title contention. Golden State enters the season as the oldest team in the NBA — even with two rookies and a 21-year-old (Kuminga) on the roster.

It’s truly now or never for the Warriors.

All the connectivity (the preseason buzzword) and good vibes surrounding this team don’t mean a thing if the Warriors spend any portion of this season coasting, lollygagging, or seriously injured.

The Warriors might boast 14 competent players, but this team is not as talented as past editions. Kuminga is a player on the rise, yes, but he’s not the kind of player that will anchor a team. Not yet, perhaps not ever. Thompson, Green, and Paul’s best playing days are behind them. That’s indisputable. Wiggins remains the team’s X-factor, which directly alludes to the wing’s inability to be trusted. No one is really an enigma in their 10th season — using that term is just easier than saying “untrustworthy.”

Entering his 15th NBA season, the Warriors’ world still revolves around Curry.

Fifteen seasons in one uniform — it’s a sight to behold in this modern game.

“It means everything,” Curry said recently of his tenure with the Warriors. “No need for a change of scenery at this point. Just a matter of [being] in a position where it’s not a ceremonial thing. We’re really here to win, and I’m doing everything I can to continue to be a leader on that front and put ourselves in position to be championship contenders.

“You can’t control everything and you can’t guarantee anything in this league, and every team is trying to get better. That’s the nature of the competition, but if I can keep doing that every year, still represent this organization, all that we’ve built, it’s a dream come true.”

If the two-time MVP plays at an MVP level again, even in his age-36 season, the Warriors have enough around him to claim a high seed in the Western Conference and compete for a championship. There are plenty of similarities to the 2021-22 season, when the Warriors shocked the NBA world by reviving the dynasty, after all.

But any drop-off from Curry (currently unforeseeable, but nevertheless possible) or long-term injury to him will kneecap the entire operation.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr calls this level of superstar dependence “the real NBA.”

It’s a brutal, unforgiving league.

It’s also a league with incredible parity, particularly in the West. Long gone are the days of the Warriors being able to tell folks in October that, in fact, they would be busy for the first few weeks of June.

There are effectively 12 teams competing for eight playoff spots. Last season, the Warriors needed a win in the final game of the regular season to avoid the play-in tournament. It was their 11th road win of the season — that low total foreshadowing what was to come in the playoffs.

But merely making the playoffs is for other teams. For the Warriors, disappointment was finishing two wins from the Western Conference Finals.

Anything less than a trip to the conference finals this season will bring into question the future direction of this team. Could this be the end of the Warriors’ Big Three? Quite possibly. Thompson is slated to be a free agent at the end of the season. (Paul is, too.)

If Curry and the Warriors want to keep this crazy, unbelievable dream going, they must win.

Perhaps they will. Perhaps they won’t. Predicting the NBA these days is a fool’s errand.

But either way, be sure to savor the moments between now and the spring. You never really know how long dreams are going to last.