Warriors 2012-2013 outlook: Issue No. 3 — Coach Jackson

The Warriors are thinking playoffs in 2012-13, and the reality is that they have every right to think that. On paper, their team is as talented and as deep as the Warriors team of 2007-08, when they followed up on We Believe with a 48-win season.The Warriors roster is more balanced than it has been in the recent past, and their coaching staff has had a year together. But if the Warriors are to make the postseasonand break a five-year droughttheyre going to have to overcome some challenges.Here are five of the biggest issues heading into the season for the Warriors:1) Andrew Bogut's health 2) Stephen Currys health
3) Coach Mark Jackson: He came in last seasontalking about the playoffs, but what happened instead was the Warriors went23-43 and were the 13th-worst team in the conference. The nice thing for Jackson is that most wereskeptical of his playoff prediction and didnt exactly hold him to it once theteam was eliminated. The Warriors were banged-up for most of theseason, and they also made a blockbuster trade for an injured Andrew Bogut. In otherwords, Jacksonavoided criticism, for the most part. This year expectations aredifferent. There is a sense within the organization and among the fans that theWarriors are a playoff team. Its up to Jacksonto deliver.It is Jacksons responsibility to foster a winningculture among this group of players. It will also be Jacksons responsibility to figure out thebest style for this team to play. The Warriors arent really the fast-breakingteam theyve been in past years, and theyre not a typical halfcourt team,either. One of the most challenging aspects of Jacksons job thiscoming season will be to find a way to take advantage of the Warriors rosterwhich is a little bit unconventional. Bogutand David Lee are excellent passing big men, so there should be an opportunityto play a little bit differently than most teams. And, similarly,Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the teams likely starting backcourt, are better atshooting the ball than playmaking. So it will be up to Jackson to figure out a way to get those twoplayers shots instead of those two players having to worry about gettingshots for teammates.