Before traveling to Milwaukee for their game against the Bucks on Friday afternoon, the Golden State Warriors spent four nights in New York.
Normally, staying in the city would be a good perk for an NBA team on the road. But these are strange and challenging times, and the Warriors, by adhering to the league’s coronavirus protocols, did not venture beyond their hotel except to go practice and be defeated by the Nets on Tuesday at their opening season at Barclays Center.
Coach Steve Kerr tried to set a good example for his players. On Wednesday night, he called his son Nick, one of the team’s top video coordinators, who was hiding in a nearby room at the team’s hotel: He wanted to get together to order room service and watch a game at TV?
“And he said, ‘It’s probably not a good idea,'” Kerr remembers Nick telling him. “And I said, ‘Ah, yes. You’re right.’ Although we are being tested and we are together every day, the more we can be alone, the better. It is not a fun way to live, but it is the smartest thing to do. “
The Warriors’ challenges are not unique. Each team is dealing with the same circumstances. But few teams outside Houston have gone through more difficult times so far.
The Golden State’s illustrious and not-so-distant past is fading a little by the day. It is too early to make generalizations or draw dire conclusions. But: Damn it! Two games, two defeats for a team that seems doomed to more months of growing pains.
“We need to win,” said Stephen Curry, of the Warriors, after the 138-99 loss to Bucks. “Immediately.”
Things got so bad for the Warriors on Friday that Antetokounmpo attacked them in the fourth half – but not Giannis. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the two-time older brother of the most valuable player, had minutes for Bucks at the time of trash when his lead grew rapidly.
Kerr said he was very frustrated that the Warriors left two days of solid practice before going to court and “not doing much.”
“We are just scattered now,” said Kerr. “It looks like we are a series of moving parts.”
It was a nightmare start for two players who will go a long way to dictating whether the Warriors are a playoff team. Kelly Oubre Jr., who acquired in a trade after Klay Thompson was defeated by injury for the second consecutive season, lost all 11 of his 3-point attempts. And Andrew Wiggins hit 10 out of 34 pitches to start his first full season with the Warriors.
“It will shake with time,” said Kerr. “Kelly will be fine. Andrew will be fine. Both guys are proven players in this league. “
NBA planners did the Warriors no favors: two title contenders on the road to name the season in a row. Before Thompson was lost for the season, both games appeared to be striking clashes. But the Warriors are not the same without Thompson, which is obvious, but it must be emphasized.
Draymond Green, the other major member of the Warriors’ championship years, has yet to make his first appearance because of a foot injury. On Friday, Green was wearing normal clothes and a mask, jumping off the bench to share his wisdom with James Wiseman, the team’s pivot in the first year, about defensive positioning. Wiseman has been one of the team’s highlights, averaging 18.5 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 50 percent of the field. He made 3 of 4 in the 3-point range against the Bucks.
“The game is starting to slow down for me,” said Wiseman, which says a lot, considering he has been two games in his career.
Kerr suggested that Green could start when the Warriors visit the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. And the Bulls are not the Nets or the Bucks, so perhaps a trip to Chicago will provide a more realistic measure of the Warriors’ place in the NBA ecosystem this season.
Even so, the first two games offered a grim reminder that these are not the Warriors who made five consecutive trips to the NBA finals between 2014-15 and 2018-19, winning three championships. These are not the Warriors who won 24 consecutive games to start the 2015-16 season, or who ended the season with a record of 73-9 – the best in NBA history.
No, these Warriors have won 15 games in the 561 days since they last appeared in the finals. Only five players remain on that team. Injuries and turnover on duty took a huge toll. Last season, they limped to the league’s worst record without Thompson and Curry (who lost all but five games with a broken hand).
On Friday, Curry – one of the few topics linking this team to the title fight – was asked how he would treat his younger teammates.
“This year is different,” he said, “and not feeling any pressure on the Warriors’ teams of the past. Obviously, we have the championship’s DNA and we understand that there are expectations around our organization, and that is what we want. But this year is different. It’s a new group of guys. We would love to have played better in these last two games, but that will not define our season. “
There is some reason for optimism. The schedule will be more flexible. The green will be in uniform. And Oubre will likely score a 3-point at some point in the near future. There is also a long-term view: Thompson is recovering (again) in hopes of playing next season.
But now, his return seems as distant as the team’s championships.