How will the Warriors answer adversity?

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Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) chats with Golden State Warriors interim head coach Mike Brown while playing the Utah Jazz during the third quarter of Game 1 of their NBA second-round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Utah Jazz 106-94. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

The first eight games of the NBA playoffs have been quite the cake walk for the Golden State Warriors. With defense leading the way and their offense running like a well-oiled machine, nothing has seemed to clog their path to the NBA Finals just yet. Even with Kevin Durant missing their first couple of games, the Warriors maintained their dominance not missing a beat.

With that being said, how will they react to their first test of adversity? Some believe it’s best to experience your troubles early on in the playoffs to get all of the kinks out of the way but this hasn’t been the case because the Warriors have been too good. However, while things may seem to be easy now, their true test is yet to come and how they react will determine what kind of team they truly are.

They have run through the first two series with little to no resistance which leaves us at the Western Conference Finals. Regardless of the opponent, the Warriors will have their hands full. This season the Golden State Warriors are 3-1 against the Houston Rockets and 1-2 versus the San Antonio Spurs. The Rockets provide the threat of getting hot with their ability to knock down a splurge of threes and the Spurs are the most disciplined team in past decade behind the genius that is Coach Gregg Popovich. The next series will not be easy and they will definitely get their first test of the playoffs.

The Golden State Warriors witnessed themselves in a similar position last year not getting much competition until the Western Conference Finals. They quickly found themselves down 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder before they were able to fight back and win the series. In the NBA Finals, the Warriors found themselves up 3-0 but a quick reaction by Draymond Green in the heat of the moment changed the entire outcome. The Cleveland Cavaliers began to regain the momentum of the series with each win they were able to garner and with the Warriors backs against the wall, they weren’t able to overcome adversity this time.

So with the Golden State Warriors experiencing both sides of the fence last season, I’m curious to see what response we will get from this team. The absence of Steve Kerr plays a huge factor in my eyes because they truly believe in his leadership. While Mike Brown has done a great job thus far if they find themselves down in a series, will he be able to make the necessary changes to put the Warriors on top? Does he have the ears and trust of the players? These are all important questions to ask especially in the event of some hardship during the NBA Playoffs. If they lose a game or two in the series, their response will tell me all I need to know about this team. Will they be good enough to overcome adversity or will they fold similar to the NBA Finals last year?

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