If there is one thing we can take away from Golden State's slow start, it's this: Achieving Peak Warriors was never easy. It just seemed so because Golden State made it look so effortless last season. The easiest way to comprehend a team scorching its way to the most dominant regular season in NBA history is to believe its success is a force of nature. Arranging Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Harrison Barnes in such a way could only yield a power beyond control—a simple, potent reaction of the elements involved.
Yet there's a reason why the 'Death Lineup'—the very best that the Warriors could be—was always untenable when stretched out over a long enough timeline.