Losing can be a drag.
Apparently, winning can be too.
The Warriors’ 116-113 victory over the Sacramento Kings Monday — spearheaded by Steph Curry’s incredible 47-point performance — broke Golden State’s five-game losing streak. But it didn’t seem to break up the bad vibes around the team.
Less than a month into the season, the Warriors’ energy appears zapped.
The veteran players look old. The young players look lost and aloof. Curry, of all people, seems downright annoyed by the burden of carrying this team to wins.
The Warriors were once synonymous with joy. Golden State’s style of basketball was kinetic, egalitarian, and fun. But even as Curry became a supernova and made basket after basket on Monday, I didn’t see much joy from the Dubs.
And that’s even more concerning than the Warriors’ 4-7 start to the campaign.
It’s jarring to watch this team without its trademark zest. Even in the Warriors’ lowest moments — even en route to the NBA’s worst record in 2019-20 — the on-court product had some perk to it.
But these Warriors are anything but charged up.
Is this how other teams in the NBA live day in and day out? What a drag.
For the Warriors, the energy issue starts with the bench. That’s where energy players reside in the NBA, after all; guys who might not be the most talented, but make themselves known when they play.
But the Warriors find themselves lacking even one spark plug at the moment. It’s all enough to make me think fondly upon Kelly Oubre’s time with the Warriors. Dire times, indeed.
Jordan Poole should be this team’s youthful push. He’s tailor-made to be a spark plug — straight for the cloth of Jamal Crawford and Jordan Clarkson.
But the 23-year-old guard’s flair and confidence — brash and unrepentant when on full display — is missing.
“He’s on the scout report for most teams now. He’s not going to sneak up on anybody,” Curry said of Poole.
Worse yet, if he struggles, Poole looks to be checking out of games well before he’s physically substituted off the court.
Blame the punch if you want. I won’t. But something has to change.
“JP’s in a little bit of a funk right now, but we know what he can do,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Monday.
Growing pains seem to be a theme for the Warriors this season.
In addition to Poole’s funk, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman’s athleticism hasn’t translated into game-breaking ability. Then there’s an ever-changing cycle of players around Poole (the Warriors played 23 lineups Monday).
The Warriors’ bench is a real problem.
But the energy issue applies to the starting lineup, too.
Klay Thompson — so often a harbinger of joy himself — is playing tense and frustrated ball. He’s finding his game after not scrimmaging this summer, but he’s overtly pressing and that might be delaying his return to form.
Meanwhile, Draymond Green is positively affecting the game, but he’s clearly frustrated with the overarching malaise on this squad. Try as he might, he hasn’t been able to break it.
And, again, even Curry — the unflappable superstar — seemed peeved on Monday, even as he turned in the performance of the season.
This cannot continue if the Warriors want to make the playoffs this season, much less compete for another title.
But how can it change?
Poole finding his game could go a long way to winning and the Warriors finding their overall joy. Curry and the Warriors starters’ bad mood seems tied to the fact that they’re not getting any support from the Dubs’ bench — that their impressive efforts are being made in vain.
But it’s reasonable to think that Poole needs something stable around him with the second unit — if only for a game or two. Friday’s game with the Cavs could be a step forward in that area — depth guard Donte DiVincenzo is set to return from a hamstring injury.
Thompson finding what he’s looking for in his game would be a big help, too.
Make no mistake about it: this is a serious issue. If a Curry flurry like Monday’s can’t change the mood for the Dubs, you know that has to be the case.
And on this issue, the buck stops with Kerr.
A coach with a lesser track record would be on the hot seat for having a team this depressing on the court.
Obviously, that’s not the case in San Francisco.
But we need to see the Warriors look like the Warriors again — soon.
