For better or Worse

The 2008 Warriors bring a whole new look to the franchise compared to last year. With new arrivals brings new strengths to the team, and also opens up some new problems we haven't had before.
Scoring- Basically we replaced one 20 point scorer with another this offseason. Corey Maggette brings scoring, but Baron brought scoring for himself and scoring for other team mates. At the most, there might be a 1 or 1.5 PPG drop off, but nothing significant. In order to avoid "Draws", advantage go's to the 2007 team.
*Worse*

Rebounding- The only tall player that rebounded for the Warriors last year that we lost is Austin Croshere, and that's a good thing. The Warriors made a point this offseason to improve in the rebounding department. Whether it's the signing of Ronny Turiaf, the drafting of Hendrix, or the improvement of Wright and Biedrins, the Warriors will be a far better rebounding team than lasy year.
*Better*

Defense- The 2 key departures in this category are Baron Davis and Mickael Pietrus. Baron Davis never played much defense, giving the illusion he does to the average fan who looks at the stat sheet. Often times going for the steal on every play, he left his team mates out to dry more times than not, which led to easy baskets for the opponents. When Pietrus came to the Warriors he was known for his defense, now that he leaves we know whoever gave us that impression should probably be fired and never scout again. He showed glimpses however, but most of the time he was wild and got into foul trouble. His basketball IQ is definately what holds him back. Turiaf should be a good defender for the Warriors, as well as Wright who should get more playing time this year.
*Better*

Depth- Last year teh rotation was often times limited to 7 and when us fans were lucky we would see an 8th man out there. This was more of a testiment to Don Nelson's stubborness, and not as much a result of not having anyone to play. Brandon Wright and Bellineli rotted on the bench last year, which unfortunately could happen again this year. However if Nelson decides to use our bench, he will definately have more to work with this year compared to last. Marcus Williams, Ronny Turiaf, Brandon Wright, Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, CJ Watson, and Richard Hendrix all could actually see playing time this year. I doubt Nelson would do it, but we could potentially be running at least 10 deep every game.
*Better*

3 Pt. Shooting- Take a look at these stats from last year, and why we really need some good 3 point shooters. 29% of all shots we took last year, were 3 pointers. That number was good for second best in the league. However what that number was not good for was our 3 point percentage. The Warriors shot 34% last year, which was 23rd out of 30 in the league. From the 3 point line last year, Baron Davis shot 33% on 525 attempts, and Pietrus shot 36%. Our new arrival Corey Maggette shot 38% on only 203 attempts. In conclusion this year's team will shoot less, and more efficient 3 pointers.
*Better*

Clutch- When looking at the clutch stats statistics on 82games.com, Stephen Jackson actually led our team in clutch points. He was 10th in the league, while Baron was 17th. The problem with this, is when you scroll over to the amount of times those point by Jackson were assisted, the number is 85%. Basically that means on 85% of those clutch points, he was set up for a good shot, and we all know who was doing the setting up in crunch time. Our new star, Maggette was ranked 24th last year in clutch points, so he should be helpful in that department with the absence of baron Davis. Monta Ellis was also in the top 50, without getting many shot attempts with Baron and JAckson firing away at the end of games. Overall we will be a little worse in the clutch department, but I don't think we will be in serious trouble at the end of games like some people suggest.
*Worse*

In 6 major categories compared to last year, I anticipate the Warriors will be better in 4 of them. The other 2, offense and clutch shooting, should not even be a major drop off. This year expect to see a more all around balanced team, who takes better shots and plays a little better defense. This is still a team looking for a true identity, but it can also be a very good and exciting team.