When the 2021-22 NBA season began, the Golden State Warriors were considered one of the front-running contenders for the world championship.
They came out of the gates white-hot, winning 18 of their first 20 games and looking like arguably the best team in the league – even before Klay Thompson returned to game action.
But ever since Thompson made his season debut, the Warriors have had some cracks in their armor, and they have now lost 15 of their last 22 games.
The regular season split into fourths: pic.twitter.com/l2Tz4qKhk7
— Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) March 29, 2022
Sitting now in just third place in the Western Conference, one has to wonder if Golden State’s championship hopes are in peril.
The Issues They’ve Been Facing
First off, the Warriors have never been healthy this season.
Soon after Thompson played his first game in nearly three years, Draymond Green, their Swiss Army knife and spiritual leader, was sidelined for about two months with a back injury.
Without him, the Warriors were missing one of their main ball-handlers and distributors, not to mention arguably their best rebounder and one of the truly elite defenders in basketball.
Thompson, meanwhile, has had spurts in which he has looked like his old self, but overall he has been inconsistent as he continues to get back into true game shape and rhythm.
So far this season, he is averaging 18.9 points in 28.7 minutes per game, but he is shooting just 42.1 percent from the field.
Although his 37.6 percent shooting percentage from 3-point range looks strong, it is well below the norm for him, as he has always shot over 40.0 percent from that distance prior to this year.
Now, Golden State is dealing with a foot injury to Stephen Curry that could keep him out for almost the rest of the regular season.
Even if he returns sooner than later, the Warriors will have very little time to ramp things up as a full unit before the playoffs start.
In addition, reserve Andre Iguodala, who was the Finals MVP when Curry and crew won their first championship in 2015, has been out for a while due to his own injury woes, and his return is considered a key to the team’s title hopes.
Klay Thompson on Andre Iguodala’s return: “Wow. That’ll be a welcome sight. I miss playing with him.” pic.twitter.com/GwEtN6QyrA
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 28, 2022
On top of all that, second-year man James Wiseman will not play at all this season due to a knee injury.
It sounds like a whole lot to overcome, and it is, but the Warriors aren’t your usual title contender.
What Golden State Has Going For It
Curry, Green and Thompson comprise the core that has won three NBA titles for the Warriors in recent years.
No other team in the NBA can boast that kind of championship pedigree.
Golden State also has head coach Steve Kerr, now in his eighth season with the team, who is arguably the best coach in pro basketball.
All that championship experience, as well as the experience of losing Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals at home to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, will be a big advantage once the second season starts.
In addition, the last time the Warriors won it all, they also had to deal with an injury to Curry.
In March 2018, he sprained the MCL in his left knee and was forced to miss nearly two months of action, which kept him out until the second round of the playoffs.
One must also consider that after winning those three championships, the Warriors’ trio have had to deal with lots of adversity in the last three years.
Curry and Thompson have sustained major injuries, and the team had a very poor record in 2019-20, then it missed the playoffs last year after losing both games of the play-in tournament.
All that adversity likely means that Curry, Thompson and Green are very hungry to return to the mountaintop.
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