What has happened to this team? The Golden State Warriors are literally clinging onto their Play-In lives in the 10th seed in the West as they hold a meager 1 game lead over the red-hot Houston Rockets.
I don’t like making statements like this, but it’s just the truth if nothing changes.
Despite having the core of the most recent dynasty in the NBA with nearly everybody under long term contracts, the Golden State Warriors still look like a team on the verge of an absolute catastrophe for they hold a slender 1 game lead over the Houston Rockets for 10th in the West (and the last Play-In spot) and just 10 games to go. And, like I said in the title, the Warriors are going to miss the playoffs outright if they don’t DRAMATICALLY change their fortunes.
Luck and Steph Curry. Those are the only two things keeping the Warriors’ slender, minuscule playoff hopes alive at the moment.
For those who didn’t watch last night’s 101-93 GSW victory over the vastly improved Orlando Magic (who are currently 5th in the East themselves), the Warriors once again jumped on Steph Curry’s back and allowed him to crush the late Magic comeback with a clutch layup and 3-pointer in the final 1:10. That’s pretty much been the story of the Warriors season…for about half of the year.
The other half of the year has been them over relying on Steph Curry’s excellence and getting handedly beaten for their role players and “core guys” did absolutely nothing. And, since they’re in 10th in the West and just a game ahead of the Houston Rockets, that’s been the far more common storyline of the season.
Sure, Andrew Wiggins finally figured out how to shoot a basketball last night with his 23-point performance, but when’s the last time he did that? I mean, there’s a reason he’s averaging career lows in points (12.9), minutes (23.6), assists (1.6), and steals (0.6) this season, and it’s not because he’s leading the Warriors in scoring on a nightly basis.
Anyway, the biggest issue with this Warriors team in my opinion is not Wiggins’ horrific play, Curry’s inability to will his team to victory on a consistent basis, the play of their young stats like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, or contribution of role players like Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, and Kevon Looney, but rather the utterly TORRID state of their veteran leadership core.
Chris Paul, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson. The three most important players to the Warriors success after Steph Curry himself, and two of the three members (Green and Thompson) of the Warriors 4X NBA Championship-winning dynasty.
Do you know how many points they combined for last night? 18. Just 18 points…that was divided up in Thompson scoring 15, Paul 3, and Draymond Green a big fat 0 as he was ejected after just 4 minutes (I’ll get to that in a second). This is NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!
I know Paul is two years shy of 40 and Klay Thompson has been debilitated by injuries, but both players are putting up either career lows (Paul has career lows in points, assists, minutes, steals; Thompson has career lows in minutes, 3-point shooting percentage) or lows since their first two or three seasons in the league this year.
Hell, both of these guys usually spend most nights coming off the bench or are starters for under 60% of a given game…which is horrific for guys once seen as bonified superstars. And this is one of the Warriors biggest issues. They can’t rely on their veterans and core as they did during their championship winning years, which has forced them to place WAY TOO MUCH pressure on Steph Curry to win games.
The other issue is the fact Draymond Green has gone completely AWOL.
Like I mentioned earlier, Draymond Green only played in 4 minutes of yesterday’s game as he was ejected for two technical fouls. Why? It’s because he wouldn’t stop arguing with the referee over a pretty standard/marginal shooting foul call on Andrew Wiggins’ attempt to block a Paolo Banchero layup.
Again, the call wasn’t really that controversial and the game was only 6-4 for the Warriors at that point, so there was absolutely NO REASON for Green to get so upset and combative with the ref. But that’s the thing with Draymond Green these days: he doesn’t know how stay within bounds.
He’s now been ejected from four separate games this season and has been suspended twice for a total of 17 games. Green is not only supposed to be the heart and soul of the Warriors defense, but he’s also the most vocal and voracious leader on the court. How is he supposed to lead this team to victory when he’s either getting kicked out of games, hit with endless technical fouls, or suspended outright?
Is there something wrong with Green? I’m not saying he has a mental issue or something of that nature, but this kind of behavior is just not normal for a guy who has so often kept his composure and cool in tense moments despite his fiery personality. He’s acting like a middle school 12-year-old trying to prove he’s tough by brushing and fighting against the societal and school boundaries and norms.
It makes no sense for a player of his quality, and even less sense given the fact the Warriors have just a one game lead over the upcoming Houston Rockets. The very same Rockets team that just so happens to be the hottest team in the NBA with their 10-game winning streak gunning for the Warriors throats and that 10th and final Play-In spot!
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