It’s no surprise that the Golden State Warriors have been underwhelming this season. With Klay Thompson injured before the season began, any dreams of being a title contender was crushed. However, fans were still excited to see Stephen Curry play and perhaps still be a dark horse team in the playoffs.
So far, there have been ups and downs throughout the season for the Warriors, but Curry seems to be a one-man army. Curry is averaging 29.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6 assists per game. He’s shooting 48.3 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from behind the arc, and 92.4 percent from the free throw line.
If the Golden State Warriors want a shot at making the playoffs this season, they must make adjustments and play for more wins.
With Kelly Oubre not making the impact that the Warriors expected and a big chunk of the team still developing, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Curry and Draymond carry this team. The Warriors have a talented rookie in James Wiseman but he has been playing inconsistently throughout the season due to injuries, and with his hard fall during Saturday night’s game against the Rockets and Kelly Oubre’s sprained wrist, those are yet another two things working against the team.
In February in an interview after a loss to the Spurs, Steve Kerr said that the Warriors are not “chasing wins.” While he is right in that they should avoid overworking Steph Curry this season, the Golden State Warriors’ problems look like they will be too big for Klay Thompson’s eventual return to fix. Instead of looking at it as simply getting a few more wins, the team and front-office need to make adjustments if they want to not only make the playoffs this year but also put themselves in a better position for next year.
With the recent loss to the Washington Wizards where the Warriors were up three points with only 10 seconds left, it’s one of a number of games that the Warriors have failed to close out.
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On the court, the importance of having both Oubre and Andrew Wiggins playing consistently cannot be overstated. Kelly Oubre also has one of the heaviest defensive workloads in the league, with defense a problem that has been increasingly worse in the past month.
Juan Toscano-Anderson has become an important part of the team’s 2nd unit offense. The Warriors have been developing JTA for a while now and would benefit from giving him more minutes.
On the sideline, Steve Kerr must prove that he can make better choices and draw up better plays for the right players. His inability to adjust with the assets that he has is very apparent.
Off the court, the front office disappointed with the moves they made before the trade deadline. Despite a handful of rumors that surrounded the Warriors, the only moves they made sending Marquesse Chriss and cash considerations to the San Antonio Spurs for Cady Lalanne and Brad Wanamaker and cash considerations to the Charlotte Hornets for a protected second-round pick. Cady Lalanne is a former G-League player who has been playing in the Haitian league before being picked up by the Warriors.
The Warriors front office seems intent on developing these under-the-radar players but making a trade for a more experienced player would have served them better.
Overall, the Warriors have a handful of things to consider and change if they want a chance to make the playoffs and be better off for next season. For now, all eyes are on Steve Kerr.