The Golden State Warriors have had an uneven NBA season in which they have not met expectations so far. What has kept them afloat has been the brilliance of Stephen Curry, who has remained fully aware of what they need to improve.
The Trail Blazers took down the Warriors 127–123 at Chase Center in the NBA Cup on Friday. It was the Warriors’ third straight loss, and Curry was asked postgame what disappointed him most about the latest setback.
“Feel like we played well enough to win, but have nothing to show for it,” Curry said, via 95.7 The Game. “Just some untimely defensive breakdowns led to some open threes down the stretch. Early in the game we couldn’t get a rebound. Just defensively, together as a unit, we didn’t do good enough to give ourselves a chance down the stretch.”
Rebounding was clearly a major issue. The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Warriors 52–32 and grabbed 21 offensive boards, repeatedly extending possessions and making it difficult for Golden State to close out defensive stops.
The game that exposed the Warriors’ flaws
The defeat against the Blazers was the one that truly exposed the Warriors’ shortcomings. Portland hit the 30-point mark in three of the four quarters, including 33 points in the fourth. Caleb Love scored 11 of those, frequently left open down the stretch, and he punished the hosts every time.
On the offensive end, Curry posted 38 points (14–23 FG), two rebounds, and four assists. Like Love, he also scored 11 in the fourth, but he missed two late threes that could have changed the momentum in the final minute.
Jimmy Butler, who has been very efficient this season, went 1-for-5 from the field in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points (5–15 FG), eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block.
With this latest loss, the Warriors dropped to 9–9 on the season and 1–2 in the NBA Cup. They sit at the bottom of West Group C and appear headed for an early exit in the group stage.