The Golden State Warriors' season begun with underwhelming performances from their veteran players, and despite a strong response over the last couple of months, it ended in much the same fashion on Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings.
Entering the 9/10 Play-In game as favorites, the Warriors were totally outplayed aside from a stretch to close the first-half. The visitors looked discombobulated from the outset, struggling to get into their offense as the Kings strangled them from the get-go.
A 118-94 blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings was a total encapsulation of a disappointing and now concluded Golden State Warriors' season
Plagued by turnover issues and giving up a host of second opportunities, Golden State fell down by 16 early in the second-quarter. Jonathan Kuminga led a revival late in the half, scoring 10 points in the period to bring his team to within four at the main interval.
Given how badly they'd played in the first 24 minutes, which included Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combining for five points on 2-of-10 shooting, the Warriors may have felt pretty good about themselves entering the second-half.
They pulled within one at 58-57, only for the Kings to respond with a 16-5 run. From there Golden State offered little resistance, providing a rather tame ending to a season that could never overcome a slow start.
Thompson and Andrew Wiggins' form had been a talking point for much of the season, and it almost felt appropriate that Golden State's season would conclude on the back of disastrous performances from the veteran duo.
Thompson, in possibly his final game for the franchise ahead of free agency, failed to score a single point in over 31 minutes. The 34-year-old went 0-of-10 from the floor and 0-of-6 from three-point range, while Wiggins failed to impact with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Klay Thompson goes 0-of-10 shooting in Sacramento elimination game and exits to an unknown Warriors future. Here he is walking off the court. Largest GSW offseason question is whether he will wear this jersey again. pic.twitter.com/UEhaufsc0W
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 17, 2024
Curry tried his best after a slow first-half, yet he too was below his best as the Kings made the two-time MVP work tirelessly for his team-high 22 points. Draymond Green had 12 points, three rebounds and six assists, but there wasn't the same sort of defensive impact that's been seen in recent weeks.
Kuminga had 16 points and seven rebounds but shot just 6-of-15 from the floor, with Trayce Jackson-Davis limited to less than 11 minutes as Steve Kerr's decision to go small backfired spectacularly.
On a night with very little to no positives, Moses Moody was a rare highlight with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He and Kuminga had kept Golden State alive in the first-half, yet that proved a false hope as the game quickly swung back into the Kings' favor.
Attention now turns to what's sure to be a busy offseason for the Warriors, headlined by Thompson's free agency. After a season that begun with the hope of returning to championship contention, it's an unceremonious end that could springboard major change in the coming months.