Golden State Warriors

Three reasons why the Warriors might not repeat as champs

Published Oct. 13, 2015 5:36 p.m. ET

foxsports

Repeating as champions is generally harder than winning a championship the first time, as the defending champs tend to get everyone's best shot on each night.

The Warriors are the reigning champs, of course, and this is the challenge they face next season -- they aren't going to surprise people again, and the road back to the Finals is only going to be harder with the rest of the West loading up to come for their throne.

The New York Post recently listed three factors that could derail the Warriors' hope for back-to-back titles -- health, ego and competition. Here's an excerpt:

"1. Health

"The Warriors were remarkably healthy last season. While so many of their competitors for the title suffered significant injuries – the Spurs (Kawhi Leonard), Thunder (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka), Grizzlies (Mike Conley, during the second round), Cavaliers (Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in the playoffs), to name a few – the Warriors had seven guys play 76 or more games and had no injuries of consequence.

"Though it’s possible that luck could repeat, odds are the Warriors will suffer at least one serious injury — and that can derail any team, no matter its talent level."

Read the other two reasons here.