Late within the third quarter of a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors star exhibited a uncommon breach of decorum. After teammate Andrew Wiggins was referred to as for a foul, Curry’s frustration bubbled to the floor and he punched the basketball excessive into the air. The second handed rapidly: Before the whistle blew for a technical foul, Curry had, true to kind, already calmed down and chased after the ball in an effort to return it to an official.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, the making an attempt instances which have marked the start of their title protection determine to be longer lasting than Curry’s split-second vent session. In a season that was forged as maybe the “Last Dance” for a veteran core that has received 4 titles prior to now eight seasons, Golden State is already grappling with the truth that solely Curry has persistently stayed on beat.
Well earlier than he capped final season with a signature triumph within the Finals, Curry opened the marketing campaign by taking part in the most effective basketball of his profession. The 14-year veteran has been even higher by way of the primary month of this season, averaging 32.8 factors, 6.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per sport. Not solely is Curry comfortably above the vaunted 50/40/90 capturing splits, he’s averaging extra factors, rebounds and assists than Michael Jordan did in the course of the Chicago Bulls’ “Last Dance” run of 1997-98.
At 34, Curry has blended professional method, psychological mastery and improved power in a devastatingly environment friendly and constant package deal not often approached by gamers of their mid-30s. During the 130-119 loss to the Suns, who have been with out starters Chris Paul and Cam Johnson, Curry poured in a season-high 50 factors, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
And but Curry’s yeoman work hasn’t been sufficient to maintain the Warriors above water. With its loss to Phoenix, Golden State fell to 6-9 on the season, putting it twelfth within the Western Conference. The Warriors are actually 0-8 on the street and 1-4 towards top-six seeds in both convention due to a Twenty seventh-ranked protection and a disjointed bench that recurrently squanders Curry’s greatest efforts.
“It’s a struggle right now,” Curry mentioned to reporters, within the aftermath of Golden State’s worst start on the street in 33 years. “Let’s keep it real. We have to understand that it’s going to be really hard to dig yourself out of the situation we’re in because there’s a lot of issues. But it’s not anything we can’t overcome.”
As Golden State was run off the court docket by Phoenix, Coach Steve Kerr scolded his crew for its “pickup game” strategy and lack of belief in one another. Clearly hoping that the message would stick, Kerr used his postgame news convention to name out his crew for “hanging [their] heads” and “feeling sorry for ourselves.” The Warriors, he mentioned, “lacked” the “combination of joy, competitive desire, unity and purpose” they’ve displayed for a lot of the previous decade.
“I’ve failed,” Kerr mentioned to reporters. “I’ve got to bring these guys together. … We’ve got to get everybody on board, on the same page, in terms of just worrying about winning. … Everyone can’t wait to play us and kick our a–. We’ve had a lot of success, a lot of fun, a lot of joy in beating people over the years. Teams don’t forget that.”
The Warriors launched their season final month hoping to place Draymond Green’s punch of Jordan Poole behind them and anticipating to play an 11-man rotation that would come with latest lottery picks James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. Kerr deliberate to deploy a “Strength in Numbers” strategy like he used to win a title in 2014-15, but he has been compelled to deal with a bunch that has carried out extra just like the 2020-21 Warriors, a essentially flawed one-man military that misplaced within the play-in match regardless of MVP-caliber play from Curry.
While there have been no conspicuous flare-ups between teammates since Green’s inexplicable preseason strike, Golden State has misplaced its easygoing verve and its capability to trend an entire that’s better than the sum of its components. Klay Thompson has been mired in a capturing droop, Green’s defensive affect has slipped and Poole has been much less dependable than anticipated. Meanwhile, the prospects have been largely dumped from the rotation: Wiseman was assigned to the G League this week after a poor start, Kuminga has been a non-factor and Moody has been an afterthought.
A bunch of newcomers has changed that trio: Donte DiVincenzo, JaMychal Green and Anthony Lamb. Collectively, they signify a step down from Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., Damion Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson, who all discovered new houses in the course of the offseason.
Thanks to a record-setting payroll, the Warriors have been capable of retain their complete beginning lineup and re-sign Poole to a nine-figure extension. But their bench overhaul, which was motivated partly by luxurious tax issues, has considerably compromised their defensive depth and flexibility. Golden State has slipped in a number of areas, together with getting again in transition, holding opponents to at least one shot and avoiding pointless fouls.
The Warriors’ malaise has lasted lengthy sufficient that it qualifies as a championship hangover, however they haven’t but reached the purpose of sheer panic. Last season, the Boston Celtics hovered round .500 for practically half the season earlier than getting scorching and reaching the Finals. Golden State remains to be simply three losses again of the West’s fourth seed, and the convention standings received’t absolutely shake out for a while.
Even so, Kerr and Curry have adopted a grave tone of their self-evaluations. The time for course correction is now. Curry famous that the Warriors have by no means beforehand suffered from “rough patches this long where you haven’t found anything to create an identity around 15 games in,” and he mentioned that he was “ready for the challenge” of serving to get his teammates “in the right mind frame to win.”
“Just put the focus on the team,” he mentioned, talking fastidiously like at all times. “If your energy can be focused on the team, having each other’s back vocally or with your energy and body language. Whatever the sacrifice might look like when you’re out there on the court, that usually creates good vibes and you can feed off of that and get out of a hole. You can’t obsess about the stat sheet. That’s not how the game is played.”
