The Warriors started the season with an eight-game road losing streak–the longest road losing streak by a defending champion since the’ 98-’99 Chicago Bulls.
On Sunday, the Golden State Warriors finally snapped their road losing streak with a 127-120 win over the Houston Rockets. Klay Thompson was the game’s leading scorer with 41 points, including ten three-pointers. Steph Curry had no problem playing the role of facilitator with 15 assists, six rebounds, and 33 points for a double-double. Andrew Wiggins had 22 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Klay is back, but …. (photo, Bluemanhoop.com)
Struggles of the Warriors have been on both sides of the court. Jordan Poole seems to have cooled off since his stellar ‘21-22 season and playoff performance. Andrew Wiggins, who came alive in the playoffs, has not done so yet this season. And Klay Thompson, who is averaging 17.3 points per game in his first full season since returning from his ACL injury, remains a question mark, but hope rides on his performance against the Rockets.
Steph Curry, per his usual style, is producing offensively, averaging 32.3 points per game, but he is not receiving much help scoring from his teammates until their win over the Rockets. There are team issues, too, including averaging nearly 16 turnovers per game, as well as ranking 25th in rebounding and 29th in free throws taken. Those stat levels, along with shooting woes, can haunt teams when they play on the road–and that’s what happened Monday night against the Pelicans.
Monday’s stunning 45-point road loss was punctuated by being outrebounded 50-34, having 12 more turnovers than New Orleans, and being outshot (percentage-wise) 54%-38%. Granted, GSW played without either Steph or Klay, but the margin of victory (the second largest in NOP history) sustains concerns about the Warriors going forward.
There is still plenty of time left in the season, of course, and with their veteran roster and a core group that won a championship last year, there is plenty of hope for GSW.
Make no mistake about it: Golden State’s ability/inability to turn things around will be a critical NBA storyline as the 2022-23 season progresses.
