Losing is Just What the Warriors Needed

The Golden State Warriors have lost two of their last three games and it’s exactly what they needed.

I was a straight A student in grammar school without every really trying. I never went above-and-beyond, I chose my Xbox over studying, and I did better than most of my classmates. I was good at school and I knew it. So I cruised.

Then one day, I walked into class and and was given a test for English class. And I failed it big time. I turned into the Michael Jordan crying meme and the Mr. Krabs swirl meme all at once. From that point on, I vowed to never fail another test and I didn’t.

Basically, the point is: sometimes we all need a little kick in the butt. Even the best of us.

That includes defending champion, record-chasing basketball teams. Early in the season, the Warriors dominated, casually blowing teams out by double digits on a nightly basis. Lately, the Warriors haven’t been able to cruise as much, relying heavily on Stephen Curry‘s heroics to bail them out after poor performances. They’ve been careless on both ends of the floor yet they were managing to escape with wins.

These poor performances have finally caught up with them, as they’ve suffered two shocking home losses in their last three games. With their margin for error on their assault on the Chicago Bulls’ record reaching the lowest it can possibly get and the playoffs around the corner, this could be the reality check the Warriors needed.

The Warriors play four more games, two against the San Antonio Spurs and two against the Memphis Grizzlies. If they want to surpass Jordan’s Bulls–and surely, some of them do–they need to be perfect. And the Warriors have responded well the few times they’ve been faced with adversity since Steve Kerr took over.

For example, Golden State lost two of three in mid-January to the Denver Nuggets and the Detroit Pistons. Naturally, there was widespread overreactions that were put to rest very quickly as the Warriors proceeded to blow out the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Spurs, and Dallas Mavericks by double digits over their next five contests.

Despite the buzz around the record, the Warriors are bored. Sure, they’re probably tired, who isn’t at this point in the season? But their biggest obstacle is complacency and an expectation that they are going to win no matter what. It’s a belief that they can get caught up in entertaining the crowd, turn the ball over and over again, turn it on for a few minutes, and build and hold a fifteen point lead.

The Warriors’ leaders Steph Curry and Draymond Green set the competitive tone for the rest of the team. Those two hate losing, they hate conceding and admitting that they can’t do something. All they’ve ever been told is that they can’t do anything so, you can imagine, after winning a title that many criticized, they’re out for blood.

The Warriors haven’t lost consecutive games all year, but the Spurs will surely challenge that. While chasing 73 is probably taking a mental toll on the team, losing those two games was probably more valuable than the other possibility in the long run.