Back-to-back blowout losses on their home floor have the Golden State Warriors back to a .500 record and officially facing their most dire point of this NBA season.
The Warriors followed Sunday's 30-point loss against the Sacramento Kings with a 16-point defeat to the Miami Heat, that coming despite the visitors playing without Jimmy Butler and having come off a double overtime game on Monday.
Back-to-back losses may force Warriors into greater urgency
Stephen Curry looked dejected and frustrated after subbing out for the final time in the fourth-quarter on Tuesday, before labelling the performances as "back-to-back no shows" during his post-game press conference.
The 2x MVP had a combined 12 threes and 57 points against the Kings and Heat, yet his team lost both by a combined 46 points. Golden State's offensive issues were noted as a "crisis of confidence" by Steve Kerr, but Curry's response was more alarming as the 36-year-old responded, "honestly, I have no idea" when asked about how the offense can improve.
Steph Curry just looked generally exasperated tonight as the Warriors continually tried and failed to come back against a Heat team that played into double OT last night. Here’s a wandering, frustrated Curry after subbing out for final time. pic.twitter.com/ekP5P0EbS3
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 8, 2025
That's the critical point the Warriors must take from this -- there are no imminent answers on the current roster. Their now 19th-ranked offense on the season looks about right, with their hot start looking more and more like the outlier period.
Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II are both expected to return on the upcoming four-game road-trip, but neither will bring a significant offensive difference having averaged just 12.6 combined points so far this season.
The player who does make a significant difference, Jonathan Kuminga, is still out for at least another nine games. Perhaps there's no coincidence that Golden State have suffered two of their worst losses immediately after Kuminga's ankle injury, but the fact they're now relying so heavily on the 22-year-old is also a blight on the current roster.
The Warriors have another 15 games before the February 6 trade deadline. If they continue this current form, they could be five games below .500 and too far back in an incredibly competitive Western Conference.
So, if there's one silver lining to these startlingly bad back-to-back losses (and Kuminga's injury), it's that they may force Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office into a greater sense of urgency in making a deal now rather than waiting until the 24 hours before the deadline.
Of course, there's a balance in not over-reacting, panicking and negotiating from a place of weakness, but the Warriors have reached a point where they may need to pay slightly overs for a quality offensive player who could help right the ship and provide another threat particularly while Kuminga remains out.