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The Golden State Warriors have been ranked No. 23 out of 30 NBA teams in SB Nation's preseason NBA Power Rankings as tallied by Seth Rosenthal.
That's about right for this team, who had a solid offseason after drafting the likes of Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green, but have serious questions about two of their key players in Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry when it comes to the potential for injuries.
If those two are right, then the Warriors will be surprisingly competitive in the Pacific Division. Thought they don't have anywhere near the star power of either of the Los Angeles teams, they have some pieces that can give any team a run for its money. The Warriors are young, and they're looking to build on a disappointing 23-43 record in the shortened 66-game season of 2011-2012.
Klay Thompson will have to step up and establish himself as a true, consistent NBA scorer. The Warriors have seen flashes of what he can do, but he'll need to maintain it over the stretch of a full season and improve in the process.
The bottom line is that Golden State can go either way this season. If they avoid the injury bug, then they can be a playoff team, but if a key player goes down, then there simply won't be enough depth to remain out of the cellar.