Are the Golden State Warriors having a mid-season slump?

Due to Draymond Green’s lingering injury, Stephen Curry’s continuous shooting slump, and Klay Thompson’s inefficient return, the Golden State Warriors find themselves 4-5 in the month of January and just 1.5 games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Warriors scored a season-low 82 points against the Dallas Mavericks on January 5th and followed it up by defensively allowing a season-high of 119 points to the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 16th. In fairness, Dallas has been the fourth-best defense in the league this season and Golden State was without both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in the 119-99 loss to the Wolves.

The Golden State Warriors have been in a rut as injuries and lackluster efforts lead to a potential mid-season slump.

The team also had their worst half of the season when playing the Milwaukee Bucks on January 13th. They only managed to score 38 points by halftime and were down 39 points to the reigning champs. Steph had his second-lowest point total of the season, only scoring 12 points on 36% shooting.

There has also been a clear decrease in both offensive and defensive ratings for the Warriors so far this month. They’ve had an offensive rating of 106.2 in January, which has caused their season average to drop to 110.5. For comparison, during their hot streak in November, they had an offensive rating of 114.8. That ranked No. 2 in the league, now they sit at No. 11.

Defensively they still sit at the top of the league with a rating of 102.6. However, with Draymond being sidelined for at least another two weeks and their rating dropping to 106.1 so far this month, it is possible we see another statistical drop by the Warriors. Phoenix is not far behind with a defensive rating of 104.2.

Despite things not going in their favor so far in 2022, it is not time to hit the panic button in Golden State by any means. They still have the second-best record in the league at 31-12, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole are both having the best seasons of their young careers, and statistically, they have the easiest remaining schedule of anybody in the NBA.

It is also very likely that we see an increase in efficiency from Klay Thompson as he continues to build chemistry with his teammates and his minutes increase. After two seasons of being sidelined by injury, Thompson has averaged under 40% shooting in all four games he has played this month.

However, with a number of years in Steve Kerr’s system and the success he has previously had, it’s safe to say he just needs a little more time before he’s back to having 37-point quarters.