What is Going On With the Warriors?
Hey folks, Happy New years! Apologies for the silence on posting, I took a little bit of time for myself over the holiday period, but we’re back, and with a banger post.
As I’m sure you’ve all seen, the Golden State Warriors have been playing some of the worst basketball of the season lately, and it doesn’t seem like they will improve anytime soon. The big question is obviously, “What has been the main cause of the way they are playing?” In all honesty, I don’t think you can pin it on just one thing, but rather the dynamic of the players, coaches, and fans. One of the main things that I have seen from this stretch is the rotations, or rather lack of. Ever since their championship run in 2021/22, the Warriors have really prided themselves on their youngsters, mainly Jonathon Kuminga and Moses Moody. Jordan Poole didn’t quite pan out how we thought he was going to, but sometimes that happens. Kuminga and Moody have been playing out of their minds this season, yet have been getting maybe 5 minutes a game on average. I don’t even want to count how many times I’ve seen players like Corey Joseph, who hasn’t proved himself whatsoever, get more playing time in a game over Kuminga and Moody. We haven’t even mentioned the rookies yet either. Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson Davis have also been playing out of their minds. Podzi is easily top 10, maybe even 5, in rookie of the year voting, and TJD has been one of the most important players on this roster by far. For some reason, Kerr is relying heavily on his veteran presence on the court, which is clearly not working. Klay Thompson is having in my opinion one of the worst years of his career, Chris Paul is hurt, Draymond Green is too busy fighting people, and Steph Curry is still playing like Steph Curry. My opinion? PLAY YOUR PLAYERS. If a starter isn’t performing, switch him out for a bench player that is performing. I think major differences will be seen if younger bench players get more minutes other than garbage time minutes.
The Warriors also seem to lack chemistry and heart this year. They don’t seem to be playing with a real love for the game, and in turn, the effort on the court has been lacking. I’m not sure if the locker room has been lost, faith in the coaching staff has been altered, or if the will to win is already gone, but there needs to be a culture change in the locker room, or else they might not win more than 10 more games this season.
An obvious want for the season is a trade for another star like player, but that would require giving up tons of young talent, and as I said before, the youngsters are playing really well for the team right now. Sure, I’d love a Karl Anthony Towns type of player, however sacrificing Kuminga and potentially a Moody to me isn’t worth it, since KAT is older than these guys and has limited time left in the league, granted he is only 28 so he’s not necessarily old.
Getting Draymond back into the lineup is big as far as motivation, however I don’t believe he’s going to make a huge impact as far as scoring.
This is a pretty bare bones explanation as to what I think is going on, so I’ll have a YouTube video coming out within the next week that explains thoughts after the Warriors-Nuggets game in more detail. Until then, have a good one!
