What is happening to Golden State Warriors? / News - Basketnews.com

The reigning NBA champions are experiencing an underwhelming season in which they're showing worrying issues defensively. Could this be the beginning of the end of the Warriors' dynasty?

Credit: AP/Scanpix Credit AP/Scanpix

In June of last year, the Golden State Warriors were celebrating their 7th NBA title, the fourth in their recent history.

They beat the Boston Celtics 4-2 in the NBA Finals and immediately started to think about a repeat for the 2022-23 season.

Golden State finished the 2021-22 regular season with 53 wins and 29 losses, good for the third spot in the Western Conference. They won at least one game on the road in every single playoff series last season.

But when we look at the current picture of the Western Conference and focus on the Warriors, there's definitely something off.

Golden State is currently in sixth place in the Western Conference with 38 wins and 36 losses, barely above 0.500%.

With less than 10 games left, the Warriors might be forced to play in the Play-In Tournament to secure a playoff spot, which would have been extremely hard to imagine only a few months ago.

But the reality now is that as of today, the Warriors are +1000 (11.00) in odds to win the NBA championship.

The team coached by Steve Kerr has already lost more games than in the last season, and their performances have often been inconsistent.

For sure, some cases didn't help in making this season easier. For example, during the training camp, the Warriors became the talk of the league when images surfaced of Draymond Green punching his teammate Jordan Poole.

Golden State tried to deal with it internally, but that definitely had repercussions on the team's environment.

Jordan Poole Draymond GreenCredit USA TODAY Sports-Scanpix

There's also uncertainty surrounding the return of Andrew Wiggins, who has been out for more than a month due to personal issues.

There's no clear timetable for his return, and the Warriors are trying to protect his privacy in the best way they can.

Wiggins was instrumental in the Warriors' run for the NBA title last season, and there's no doubt his absence has left a big void in the roster.

But the most striking statistic in the Warriors' season so far is the difference in performance between home and away games.

The Warriors' home record is top-notch, placing them among the best teams in the league with 29 wins and only 7 losses.

But on the road, the Warriors have struggled tremendously this season and have one of the worst records in the league, with 9 wins and 29 losses.

One of the strongest teams in recent NBA history seems to have suddenly become incapable of having a decent away performance.

The only two teams doing worse than Golden State on the road are the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets. The latter, however, are not contenders and had no interest in having a high-profile record this season since they are in the midst of rebuilding.

One of the strangest figures that entirely frames how peculiar the Golden State Warriors season has been is the 3-point percentage allowed to opponents.

At home, the Warriors allow less than 33 percent from 3-point range to opponents, the best figure in the entire NBA.

However, things change dramatically on the road, as the Warriors concede 41 percent from distance, the worst figure in the entire NBA.

The NBA average in this figure is about 36.7 percent, as noted by John Hollinger of The Athletic. This means that Golden State does worse than the average NBA team by almost five percentage points, an enormity by league standards.

But the problem does not stop with just the 3-point shot. The Warriors, in general, struggle to be a defensively efficient team when playing on the road.

Again, the difference between home and away is like a day and night. At the Chase Center, the Warriors have the third-best defense in the entire league, but when they play away from home, Stephen Curry and co. collapse defensively, becoming third-worst in the league.

Stephen CurryCredit AFP - Scanpix

Virtually every aspect of the defense gets considerably worse away from the Chase Center, from rebounds to free throws allowed. For much of last season, Golden State was the best defense in the entire league; this year, they are only 18th.

Rather than an average decline, this has been a true vertical collapse. Nor can these difficulties be blamed on roster changes.

With a few exceptions, the Warriors have maintained last season's roster, and the poor defensive numbers are confirmed even when all their stars are available.

If the difference in terms of offense from last season is not so pronounced (the Warriors currently have the 13th-best offense in the NBA; last season, it was 17th), the one related to defense is truly abysmal.

It would be quite reductive to justify it by the absence of Andrew Wiggins alone or the departure of Gary Payton II (who has since returned at the trade deadline).

The fact of the matter is that the Warriors, taking into account even home games, are experiencing a really low-level season from a defensive standpoint. This judgment does not spare those who, on paper, should be specialists like Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

To avoid the Play-In and the risk of being resoundingly out of the playoffs, the Warriors will have to push on the accelerator until the end of the season.

The distance to the direct pursuers is quite narrow, and any single loss could pose no small problem for Kerr's team.

It is equally true that the trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green remains one of the most dangerous weapons in the entire NBA.

If all three are in top form, few teams have the strength to limit them. Is it legitimate to think that Golden State's big three will set all things right by the time the playoffs arrive?

Recent history tells us, yes, but the difficulties of this regular season remind us that the Warriors' current core may not have much time left.

This, in fact, could quietly be Draymond Green's last season in a Warriors jersey, while Thompson's contract expires in 2024.

In addition, Bob Myers, the GM who built this Warriors dynasty, is on an expiring contract, and there is a feeling that he, too, may leave the Bay after so many years.

Bob MyersCredit AFP-Scanpix

The Western Conference this season is absolutely wide open. There are several very good teams, but none seem to be clearly stronger than the others.

In such a balanced environment, the Warriors' greater experience in the post-season could make a difference, but something has to change defensively.

The NBA playoffs are absolutely ruthless in highlighting more and more clearly the defensive limitations of the teams that participate. Hiding one's limitations at that level becomes almost impossible.

If Golden State really wants to have a real chance of reconfirming itself as NBA champion, Coach Kerr must find defensive countermeasures.

Indeed, the performance we've seen so far in the regular season will not be enough to take them all the way.

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