All season long, something has seemed off with the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Although they have played well at home, they have had lots of trouble winning on the road, where they were just 11-30 in the regular season, the second-worst such record after the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, who both had just eight road wins.
It has culminated in back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Lakers in Southern California and a 3-1 series deficit in the Western Conference semifinals.
Some following the team, such as Dr. Nirav Pandya, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of California, San Francisco and a Warriors injury analyst, feel the team’s infusion of young talent simply hasn’t panned out.
-Wiseman: traded to Detroit
-Poole: punched by Green, play regresses
-Kuminga: no playing time in playoffs
-Moody: major playoff contributor but no regular season timeThe two timelines didn’t work out as planned
— Dr. Nirav Pandya, M.D. (@DrNiravPandya) May 9, 2023
One of the reasons the Warriors won the world title last season was because of the contributions of young players such as Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody.
The thinking was that the three of them, along with center James Wiseman, who missed all of last season due to injury, would help reduce the workload of the aging trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
But Poole, who was outstanding last season, has seen his efficiency drop like a rock, while Kuminga has barely played in the postseason.
Meanwhile, Wiseman was sent to the G League during the regular season before being traded in a four-team deal that brought Golden State guard Gary Payton II, who was a key contributor last year.
If there is one team that can overcome a 3-1 series deficit, it’s Golden State, who did so in the 2016 Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But these Warriors aren’t those Warriors, who won a record 73 regular-season games and came within a couple of plays of a second straight NBA championship that year.
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