The Warriors very clearly have intentions of being a title contender this season. With Klay Thompson’s torn Achilles, though, that feels pretty farfetched at this point.
Now, the question shifts to whether they can actually make the playoffs. Although Stephen Curry is a phenomenal player who has carried teams before, it’s unclear whether he can do it again heading into this season.
And after the Warriors’ 114-113 loss to the Kings on Tuesday night, those questions are only burning hotter.
Yes, it’s only preseason. And yes, the Kings look like they could be a pretty good team. But at the same time, the Warriors showed that they had some issues that are pretty hard to overlook at this point.
They just have no offense outside of Stephen Curry.
The Warriors struggled in non-Steph minutes
Again, it’s the preseason. So nothing is definite just yet. But if the game against the Kings was any indication, the Warriors offense are going to struggle to score when Curry sits.
There’s a pattern here. He played 10 minutes in the first quarter and the Warriors outscored he Kings 27-25. He sat to start the second and they were outscored 37-20 — Curry only played in just under 6 minutes of that quarter. He played the full 12 minutes of the third quarter and the Warriors outscored Sacramento 34-26.
Those were the last of his 28 minutes on the night. He was a whopping +12.1 for in last night’s game, according to data from NBA’s stats database. No other Warrior with, at least, 20 minutes played had a higher net rating than Kelly Oubre’s +3.9.
When Steph was in? The Warriors looked incredible. When he was out, they looked like they might win the lottery again. And that’s not a great sign for the Warriors.
That’s a huge problem
No, it’s not irregular for a team to struggle when a star player sits. But it’s how much the team actually struggles when that player sits that matters. The Warriors struggled mightily.
Just look at how rapidly things fell apart after the first 15 minutes.
Warriors a +9 in Steph Curry's 10 minutes, a quick -13 in his 4.5 minutes on the bench. That off number may be the defining point of their season. Can they survive when he sits?
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 16, 2020
That cannot happen for a playoff team. They have to be able to maintain some sort of lead. Without Klay Thompson’s shooting touch, they’re probably going to have to do that defensively. Whether they actually have the talent to do that remains to be seen.
There’s still plenty more to see from them
By no means should anyone be writing the Warriors off just yet. They’re not quite a finished product. The Warriors haven’t played Draymond Green, James Wiseman or Eric Paschall just yet.
Those are three of their six or seven best players at this point. The way they look could determine a ton about how this season goes for the Warriors. It’s too early to make snap judgments on them now.
Hopefully, they find an answer for their non-Steph minutes problem. If they do, they’re a sure bet for the playoffs. If not, things can be rough.