The Golden State Warriors lost to the Miami Heat in their 20th game of the season, and it just so happened to also be their 16th lose.
There’s no denying this season hasn’t gone the way the Golden State Warriors had imagine. The original thought was that Stephen Curry, D’Angelo Russell, and Draymond Green could lead the Warriors and keep up their playoff aspirations until Thompson’s return.
After just their fourth game of the season, Curry broke his left hand. He’ll be out for quite a while, potentially till the middle of February. Klay Thompson, now that they aren’t going to be in playoff contention, may not come back at all this season.
The absence of those two has been detrimental for Golden State. They’ve kicked off the season 4-16 in their first 20 games, and it’s, at times, been a brutal sight. However, there are brighter times ahead.
Curry, Thompson, Green, and Russell will all be healthy, Eric Paschall has developed into a quality contributor and the Warriors will in all likelihood have a top-three pick that’ll be capable to produce immediately.
Combine all those, and it’s clear the grass will be greener on the other side.
That said, this past loss was one that especially stung for the Warriors front office. They were facing Miami’s Kendrick Nunn, a player that was in the team’s G-League system last season. They missed out on keeping him in the culture and watched him drop 15 points on them.
A 17-point loss to the Heat was just another example that this team is missing their defensive star, Klay Thompson. It’s been a difficult transition; however, thankfully many of the players currently contributing never knew life with the five-time All-Star.
The Warriors are just one game into a five-game road trip. There are a few more extremely winnable games against teams like Chicago and Atlanta. They may also get a Vucevic-less Magic. These next few games will be telling.
How will this team respond? How will they come together after 16 losses in 20 games? Let’s hope head coach Steve Kerr can rally the team and figure out a way to win a few of these games.