The 2015-16 NBA regular season has yet to start but the war of words and criticism has already started. And as one would expect, the Warriors are caught in the middle of it.

The Western Conference is of course expected to be something to watch, seeing that most teams are bunched up there. But the fact remains that the division includes the reigning NBA champion Warriors and now several teams have taken aim at them – the Rockets and the Clippers.

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For Houston, it all started with that Ty Lawson remark on Stephen Curry, who said they coasted in the Western Conference Finals. Then there was the James Harden rant about losing out on the MVP race. In all, the mental jabs are taking center stage and have somewhat been considered bitter.

Speaking of bitter, Rivers did seem to make some remarks somehow aligned to that.

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"You need luck in the West. Look at Golden State. They didn't have to play us or the Spurs" says Doc Rivers in an interview with Grantland’s Zach Lowe.

Klay Thompson took exception and rightfully so. But as he put it, he would have loved to face off with the Clippers had they done their part and advanced.

"Didn't they lose to the Rockets?" Thompson asked. "So that just makes me laugh. That's funny. Weren't they up 3-1, too? Tell them I said that, too."

Right now, the Warriors weren’t that loud as far as beefing up their lineup. The only key addition was perhaps Jason Thompson while unloading David Lee to the Boston Celtics.

Just like last year when no one paid attention to them, the Warriors are expected to show the same performance that led them to the NBA title. Repeating is of course in the agenda but the road to that offers a lot of stumbling blocks, the Clippers and Rockets included.

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