The Golden State Warriors established their dynasty over the last ten years by playing freely, fiercely competitively, and with a strong feeling of camaraderie.
However, after only 15 games this season, everything looks to be falling apart.
The Warriors’ latest setback came on Wednesday when they lost to the Phoenix 130-119, dropping them to 0-8 on the road to begin a season for the 1st time since 1989–90 when they started 0-9. In addition, according to a source, it is the longest road losing streak by a reigning champion since the 1998–1999 Chicago Bulls.
Stephen Curry, who recorded his 11th career 50-point performance to equal Allen Iverson for eighth all-time, stated:
“Forget the road record, we cannot find a consistent stretch of success where habits begin to take shape, and we’re in a position where we’re going off the court feeling good about ourselves.”
During the Warriors’ postgame news conference, the phrase “scattered” was frequently used to describe the team’s current state, implying a lack of communication and buy-in from each player.
The Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, claimed that the group is not united.
There is a pick-up game going on, according to Kerr. There isn’t any execution on either end, and the team isn’t guaranteed to get three straight stops before executing on offense.
Kerr claimed he wanted to shoulder most of the responsibility because he had “failed” to unite his group and provide them with a common goal.
Curry, however, took over some of the duties as team leader.
Curry declared, “I’m scoring well, trying to be effective, and I will keep doing that. However, there is a general mindset that I need to help everyone adopt to try and win, and I’m up for the task of figuring that out.
It’s tough to blame Curry. He has been pulling his team behind him in the early going of the season.
To become the eighth-oldest person to score 50 points in a game, the eight-time All-Star player made 17 of 28 shots, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Still, the Warriors suffered an 11-point loss. The Warriors lost only three times in Curry’s 11 games with 50 or more points. When he scores at least 40 points, they have never lost by double digits before.
Curry has done all his power to give the Warriors a chance to win during the team’s first 15 games, averaging 32.8 points on 53-45-93 shooting percentages. Stephen is the only player to score 30 points on 50-40-90 percent of his shots in a season, which he did in 2015–16, the year he received the MVP award without a single vote of disagreement.
Despite this, Golden State’s 6-9 record places them in 12th place in the Western Conference.
Wednesday saw Curry produce over half of Golden State’s points, with the team’s other nine active players accounting for the remainder and the bench contributing just 17 points.
Klay Thompson ended with 19 points but only 6-of-17 shooting, continuing his early-season difficulties. After playing his finest game of the season, Jordan Poole failed to score.
The Warriors’ lack of cohesiveness is most evident on defense, which has kept them from developing an attacking rhythm.
They are conceding 12.8 more points per game this season than they did last season, which has caused them to fall from second to 27th in the defensive efficiency rankings.
The Warriors have already given up at least 125 points six times this year, which is the most through 15 games since 1982-83. They also allowed 70 points in the 1st half against the Suns for the fourth time. Late October saw another of those occasions against Phoenix.
“We missing collective grit. We’re playing a Drew League game just now,” Kerr told reporters after the game, according to a source.
“I’ve always believed the game favors you if you commit to the game. If you genuinely compete together, shots go in, rulings go your way, breaks go your way, and none of this is anything we earn, which is why we are winless on the road. It’s a pick-up game,” said the player.
Monday’s matchup with San Antonio was the Warriors’ next opportunity to regain momentum from playing as a cohesive unit both on and off the court, according to Kerr. He claimed that the team could not “leave everything [off-court] issues just put everything else backseat and focus solely on winning the game” after the defeat in Phoenix.
The Warriors assert that they are not in a panic. They are aware, however, that they are not helping their cause; every opponent they meet is eager to defeat the club that has been wreaking chaos in the league for the past ten years.
Maintaining reality right now is difficult, Curry admitted. We must recognize numerous problems, making it extremely difficult to get ourselves out of our circumstances.