The Golden State Warriors are currently mired in a 2-8 slump, which has dropped them to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference behind the Memphis Grizzlies.
Now, that’s important, because if these two teams were to meet in the second round, Memphis would have home-court advantage. The Dubs slump has been pretty steady since the injury to Swiss army knife forward Draymond Green in January.
Since their defensive stalwart and vocal leader has been out the team is 14-13, and they’ve seen their defensive rating slip from first to 17th. The struggle on that end came to a head on Saturday night in a 124-116 loss to the Lakers, where LeBron went for 56 points, the second-most he’s ever scored in any game of his illustrious NBA career.
Steph Curry on the concern level about this 2-8 stretch: “Giving in to a losing mentality. We’re not that team. I’m not gonna let us be that team.” pic.twitter.com/Lr4TWI6c63
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 6, 2022
Superstar guard Stephen Curry, who’s had to do much more of the ball-handing and playmaking while still scoring with Green out, voiced his opinion in his postgame presser.
Steph on the four-game skid: “We’re not that team. I’m not gonna let us be that team” pic.twitter.com/8wDi07pSDc
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 6, 2022
“Giving into losing mentality, we’re not that team. I’m not gonna let us be that team, and we know we’ve shown who we are in terms of how we started the season. I feel like we can obviously get back to that, that’s the confidence that has to remain, but we cannot give in to the losing spirit of finding different ways to lose.”
Stephen Curry:
“If playoffs started tomorrow, we would be in some trouble…We'll end up winning games and feeling good about ourselves but it's not gonna happen on its own. You got to do something about it. We have 18 games to do that.”
— Mark Haynes (@markhaynesnba) March 6, 2022
Curry Struggled Through January and February
Curry has had his shooting struggles pretty much since he broke the three-point record against the Knicks in December. But the sweet-shooting former Davidson Wildcat seems to have righted the ship, while his teammates are either out or struggling themselves.
Klay Thompson is still rounding himself into form after missing two full seasons with various injuries. He’s played OK but nothing like the pre-injury “KookOut Klay”.
He looks as if he’s doubting himself at times and pressing heavily when shots aren’t going down.
His insertion back into the starting lineup negatively affected Jordan Poole, who at one time was vying for most improved player in the league. The injury to 2020 No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman has been an issue as well, as he’s supposed to be the defensive anchor and hasn’t played all season after two knee surgeries.
One bright spot is the play of 2021 rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. Both have been excellent and the future is bright with them.
Kerr And Curry Voice Frustration But Not Defeat:
Head coach Steve Kerr talked about Klay pressing and the team’s lack of defensive intensity and force. Kerr says the lane is wide open and they can’t get a rebound to save their lives in crunch time.
Kerr on Klay: “He’s definitely pressing. … He’ll get there.” pic.twitter.com/guGDDuVLZX
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 6, 2022
But he knows the only way out is to fight together. He and his two-time MVP share the same sentiments.
The Warriors aren’t a championship-level roster right now, and there’s no way to tell if the insertion of Green and Wiseman will elevate them to that place. But, hey, at this point Kerr knows they need Green in the worst way.
Kerr: “We desperately need Draymond” pic.twitter.com/MeJtsWXth0
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 4, 2022
The NBA narrative changes like the wind, and a few months ago the Warriors were being picked to go back to the Finals for the first time since Klay went down. They have recently hit a bump in the road, and other teams like Memphis have fared well, so the prisoner-of-the-moment take is that Memphis is ready to go to the next level.
Not if Curry has something to say about it. All he needs to do is get hot and stay hot and we’re having another conversation.
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