Golden State Warriors: A Lesson From Loss No. 10

By Gerald Bourguet | Feb 23, 2015

Feb 22, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Golden State Warriors bench watch the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Golden State 104-98. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

The Golden State Warriors have won 81.1 percent of their 53 games so far this season. They have a legitimate candidate for MVP (Stephen Curry), Defensive Player of the Year (Draymond Green), Sixth Man of the Year (Marreese Speights), Coach of the Year (Steve Kerr) AND Most Improved Player (Draymond Green again).

Sitting atop the conference standings in the brutal West and ranking in the top five in damn near every major statistical category, the Dubs are as likely as anyone to win the 2015 NBA Finals.

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But last night’s loss to the Indiana Pacers — in a game where Klay Thompson dropped 39 points — taught us an important lesson about what it takes to win a title, and that no team is immune to the struggles that come with injuries.

Curry missed last night’s game due to ankle soreness, though the team officially called it “foot soreness.” Whether it was his foot that was really sore or the team was just trying to avoid inducing an organization-wide panic, Curry missed the game and the Dubs lost to a Paul George-less Pacers team that’s underwhelmed all season.

Now, this injury is no cause for panic. Curry said he’d be fine after the game and at this point in time, we have no reason to believe it’s anything more than minor soreness.

In the NBA, no team is perfect. Bad losses happen to everyone and the Warriors had won four games in a row coming into last night’s contest. But it was yet another reminder that for all this team’s improvement across the board, the Golden State Warriors still heavily rely on Stephen Curry.

To be fair, Thompson did his part. He once again abused the Pacers in this meeting (remember the game-winner from last time?), and was one of only two Golden State players to finish in double figures. But sometimes nights where the team shoots 38 percent from the field will happen, especially against a top-10 defense.

The overarching takeaway from the game was still clear, excuses aside: the Warriors cannot win a championship without their best players being healthy.

Technically speaking, you could say that about any title contender. The field is so stacked and any injury-plagued team is bound to be replaced by a healthier team in the “contender” category.

But since we’ve been talking about the Warriors not being able to win a championship without a healthy Andrew Bogut, it’s worth noting that Curry, Thompson and possibly even Draymond Green qualify in that category as well.

In games without Curry, the Dubs are 0-1. In games with Bogut sidelined, the Warriors are 9-5. Without Thompson, Golden State is 0-1. In other words, games where the Dubs have missed Bogut, Thompson or Curry account for seven of Golden State’s 10 losses on the season.

On the one hand, that’s great news. You’re telling me only three of the Warriors’ 10 losses this season have come with the team at full strength? I think most Dubs fans would feel pretty good about that.

But it also speaks volumes about how narrow that line between “title contender” and “vulnerable” is, even for the league’s best team. The Warriors are deep and have a vastly improved supporting cast, but if the injury bug strikes again (as it’s been prone to do over the past few seasons), the Warriors might not feel very good about their title chances.

Because as last night showed us, this team isn’t built to carry on without an important player…whoever that player might be.

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