Warriors in a funk at home, amid five-game losing streak
>> Home hasn't been kind to the Warriors yet. They are 1-5 at Chase Center with a 0-4 start to their six-game homestand.
There are some caveats behind those numbers, which include a 128109 loss Thursday night against Oklahoma City. Steph Curry missed the last two losses because of a sore knee. Draymond Green was ejected from Tuesday's game and suspended for the rest of the homestand for choking Rudy Gobert. Klay Thompson was ejected from Tuesday's loss and now Gary Payton II is dealing with an ankle sprain.
There's plenty to pull from the losses, though. Here are five takeaways from a bad time at Chase Center.
ARE THEY MEDIOCRE? >> Thirteen games into the season, the Warriors are 6-7 with a five-game win streak and a five-game losing streak. Through both highs and lows, Golden State has turned in lukewarm results outside of Curry's 30.7 scoring average.
Let's compare: They were 5-8 at this point last year and started 11-2 — going 18-2 before their third loss — during the championship season. Andrew Wiggins was there for all of it and posits winning eight of their last 10 games, minus the play-in tournament, at end of the 2020-21 season rolled into the start of the championship year. Bad chemistry knocked out by Green's big punch soured the following season. And this year, they're still mapping out the look of the team.
“We're not last year's team and right now we're not the team we were two years ago, 18-2 speaks for itself,” Wiggins said. “But we're still finding ourselves. We have a whole new team, a lot of new guys, but we're going to find it. We have the talent to beat anybody, to go all the way. It's going to be on us to figure out how we're going to win.”
WHAT'S UP WITH WIGGINS? >> Speaking of Wiggins ... he's very aware of his slump and thinks he's making strides to get out of it. He's averaging
10.5 points, shooting a dismal 13.5% from 3, all while defending the opposing team's best player. He takes some solace knowing a turnaround could come once his shot starts falling. He had a better game on Thursday, scoring 12 points with
six rebounds.
“I feel good out there. I'm not making shots so I'm trying to do anything else I can,” Wiggins said. “But we fought hard and let the game get away from us.” THE DEFENSE HASN'T BEEN AWESOME >> Green has been out for three of the five lost games. That's shown in a mediocre defensive effort over their last five games.
The Warriors have a 116 defensive rating since a Nov. 8 loss to the Denver Nuggets, and coach Steve Kerr raised concerns by the Warriors' needed to play a lot of three- and four-guard lineups that put them at a size disadvantage.
They also saw an avalanche on Thursday — the Thunder are shooting 55.7% from 3 in two games against Warriors this season with another game to come on Saturday.
KLAY THOMPSON'S STRUGGLES >> The Warriors are on a search for a second scorer to emerge in Curry's absence. Thompson hasn't yet risen to the task. The 33-yearold is shooting 32.9% from 3 this season and 26.7% from 3 over the fivegame losing streak. He couldn't get separation from Thunder defender Lu Dort and went 1-for10 in Thursday's
the game Williams inspired him to transfer from Illinois — where he was getting benched — to the West Coast.
“He was a big reason I went to Santa Clara,” Podziemksi said. “Just seeing the success he had his junior year and climb draft boards, it gave me confidence I could do the same thing. Coach (Herb) Sendek said, `What Jalen did, we want you to do the same thing.'”
Podziemski has been promoted to a regular role in the rotation, in part, because of Curry's absence. After his 23-point game against the Timberwolves, the 20-year-old called himself the team's spare tire, but he has a coveted mindset of understanding what loss. the game calls for and filling
“Just to be patient. It's that gap. tough, they loaded up on Against the Thunder he him and made it really tough collected eight rebounds, on him,” Kerr said. “They against Minnesota he turned had Dort draped on him into a scorer. His summer and we weren't able to create league debut came with scoring space for him in the lineups concerns because he focused with our offense. They kept primarily on proving him smothered. He was trying he can work within the Warriors' to get his own shot and system to get Curry and took some tough ones. Out Thompson looks, he said. of frustration, he's just trying Coaches have helped him to get himself going. We switch gears into score mode. have to find a way to get him “Though camp and some cleaner looks.” the first couple of games, PODZIEMSKI'S COME-UP >> they've been telling me to Brandin Podziemski exchanged shoot,” Podziemski said. jerseys with fellow “They know I'm a great former Santa Clara Bronco shooter and can make shots. Jalen Williams after the Over the last two games, I Thunder game. He said after showed I can make shots.”