In San Francisco, the defending NBA Champions are having trouble remembering who they are.
Over the past 10 years, this team has played a brand of basketball considered to be right up there with some of the best we’ve ever seen and the results speak for themselves.
But this season, the Warriors look like a completely different team. They are 15-18, 3-16 on the road, and have relied far too much on Stephen Curry to carry them to victory.
Now, without Steph, they are barely competitive at all, and the worst of it came on Wednesday when they gave up 141 points to the Nets in a 30-point loss. They allowed 91 points at half-time.
The performance was enough to grab the attention of Stephen A. Smith, who lit the team up for their embarrassing state of play lately.
“Yes, it is [the lowest we’ve seen them]. We all know that Steph Curry is out, we understand that and we expected more from Klay. Consistently, he hasn’t been there even though he’s had more than a few moments this season. We hope he gets it going. Jordan Poole, I like Jordan Poole a lot and I’m glad he got his money but it’s time to earn it my brother. Here’s the reality of the situation: If I’m Joe Lacob, if I’m Bob Myers, I’m disgusted with what I’m seeing. Yes, they’re the reigning defending champions and they deserve a lot of credit for that. But what we need to recognize is that you don’t just get paid for what you’ve done, you get paid for what you’re projected to do moving forward. And there’s no way that they signed up for this… you got to be better than this. I mean, you down 29 points in the first quarter how does that happen? Do you know how bad you have to be down 29 points in the first quarter? Do you know how bad you have to be down 40 at halftime? I mean good lord, what a disgrace. I can’t recognize these Warriors right now… where the hell are the Golden State Warriors? We ain’t talking about a loss now, we’re talking about getting your ass kicked. I mean come on, it’s embarrassing.”
.@stephenasmith says this is the LOWEST we have ever seen the Warriors 😳
"Where the hell are the Golden State Warriors? … We ain't talking about a loss now, we're talking about getting your ass kicked. I mean come on, it's embarrassing." pic.twitter.com/geo2KRaPF0
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 22, 2022
Clearly, Stephen A. is troubled by what he’s seeing from the Dubs, and he’s not alone. All across the league, fans and experts continue to be baffled by the current state of the defending champs. The question is, can they turn things around?
What Is The Problem For The Golden State Warriors?
Obviously, Stephen Curry’s absence is the biggest thing holding the Warriors back right now, but they weren’t a good team even when he was healthy. The heart of the issue is their performance on the road, which currently accounts for over 95% of their losses this season.
“What’s been most puzzling of all is the Warriors’ incompetence outside of San Francisco, as no team in the NBA has a worse road record (3-14). Their home net rating of plus-9.9 free-falls to minus-7.0 on the road. Last season, Golden State was 22-19 when away with a net rating of plus-1.2. This may not matter for a top seed that can lock in home-court advantage for multiple postseason rounds, but the No. 10 seed would be away from home for two play-in games (if it gets that far). And each of the Nos. 5-8 seeds would play four road games in a seven-game first-round series (via Bleacher Report).”
It has been a rough couple of weeks for the Warriors, and there’s no time for them to catch their breath. The NBA is unforgiving, and the schedule doesn’t wait for any team, no matter how bad things are.
If the Warriors want to stay afloat and keep their season alive until Steph gets back, they’ll need to find some new ways to win games without him on the floor.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
