The Golden State warriors have represented the gold standard for the NBA over the past decade. They have been the NBA Finals six times in the past decade and have won it four times under head coach Steve Kerr. The warriors have been a media darling and have had a bevy of marketable players. After all, the player are good looking, well-spoken and play the game the right way. They shoot the lights out, share the basketball and do not care who gets the credit. However, all good things must come to an end and the warriors as we know it are over. After the warriors were clapped by 36 points by the pelicans last night, Kerr intimated the team had lost its spirit:
Interviewer: Just how disappointing it is now, back-to-back games where you are hearing boos at home and maybe you felt again that many of them were deserved …
Kerr: We deserved it for sure … fell behind immediately. I think we’re just lacking confidence right now. You just sort of get to a stage sometimes where you just kind of lose your belief. It happens and that’s what happened right now … I think we’ve just lost the spirit and confidence that has to carry you night in and night out …
We weren’t competitive these last two games. One of the coaches on the way down said we’re one of the quietest teams ever. Without Draymond and Chris it’s really exposed. There’s not much chatter defensively … we need Draymond, we need guys who can kind of rally the troops right now. When you’re going through it like this there’s only one way out, and that is to fight together, to compete together. Somehow we gotta get stops …
Kerr just said a mouthful. The did not compete, which should never happen. Once Draymond (“Dirty Dray”) and 38-year-old Chris Paul return, it may not get any better. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson aren’t burying three-pointers from the hash mark anymore, so the warriors look pedestrian. They are not longer hopping around, dancing and doing the “sleep meme.” The warriors have two choices – fight back or continue to get embarrassed.
