Some kind of championship hangover was perhaps to be expected for the Golden State Warriors, but the defending champions have a had really slow start to the 2022-23 season. The Warriors are nowhere near their usual selves and find themselves all the way down at 12th in the Western Conference.
They had a decent start to the season as they were 3-2, but have followed it up with 3 straight losses. The worrying thing about these recent defeats is that they have hardly gone up against any world beaters, as they have lost to the Hornets, Pistons, and most recently, the Heat. Miami is, of course, expected to contend in the Eastern Conference, but they themselves were struggling with a 2-5 record coming into the game. It ended up being a tightly-contested affair, and we also got some drama, as there was some controversy in the closing stages of the game.
Stephen Curry Blasted The Referees After Jimmy Butler’s Foul On Him Was Overturned
With the Warriors down 112-109, Curry went up for a three-pointer, and while he missed it, he managed to draw some contact from Jimmy Butler and got the foul call. The Heat decided to challenge the call, though and they ended up winning the challenge.
Coach's Challenge (MIA): foul assessed to Butler in Q4 of #GSWatMIA. Ruling: Successful challenge, call overturned due to clear + conclusive evidence of no foul (Butler made contact w/ ball + then made incidental "high five" contact w/ Curry), MIA ball due to imminent possession. pic.twitter.com/43p4V0Pmf5
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) November 2, 2022
“Coach’s Challenge (MIA): foul assessed to Butler in Q4 of #GSWatMIA. Ruling: Successful challenge, call overturned due to clear + conclusive evidence of no foul (Butler made contact w/ ball + then made incidental “high five” contact w/ Curry), MIA ball due to imminent possession.”
The Warriors were not happy with the call being overturned, and Curry made his feelings clear on the matter when he was asked about the decision after the game.
Steph Curry on Jimmy Butler’s foul on him being overturned:
“Awful call.” pic.twitter.com/5x7CyAYNPC
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) November 2, 2022
“It’s an awful call. What did you think I was going to say? I was walking to the free throw line thinking that I was gonna get three free throws and even the score with a minute and some change left. It’s tough when I clearly felt a lot of contact. I don’t know what they saw besides the high-five contact they’re talking about, but you gotta be allowed to finish your motion, that’s what I felt like. Especially when you slow it down in slo-mo, it’s pretty clear there’s a lot of contact, but what do I know about calls?”
Butler just about managed to touch the ball as Curry was shooting it, and the referees felt that the contact that came after that was incidental, which is why they overturned it. This wasn’t the only call that the Warriors were upset over in the game, though, as they had plenty of complaints. Jordan Poole was called for traveling three times in this one, and he took to Instagram to call out the referees. There’s clearly some frustration within the Warriors camp, which is to be expected considering the start they have had.
Some are already writing them off as contenders for this season, with an NBA GM saying that the Clippers are in a different class from the Warriors. It is way too early to count them out like this, especially considering that the Clippers have also struggled, and we expect these two to bounce back and be two of the top teams in the Western Conference.
