A Closer Look At The Golden State Warriors

By: Melo Williams 

The last time we checked on #DubNation the Warriors were going through a slump on the road. They had just got beaten by the Hornets, Pistons, and the Magic twice.

With a healthy roster at that time, most felt it was just early season blues, championship hangover, and the Warriors were just going through the motions. It was only the first month of the season so nothing was alarming to panic about.

Today though, I have major serious concerns for the Golden State Warriors and I’m pushing the panic meter button repeatedly and aggressively hard.

I no longer feel the Warriors are just going through the motions, nor do I feel it’s a championship hangover.

I do feel it’s some truth deep Eastbay funk blues music playing if you listening close, but in this case, looking close.

Though the blues is playing loud like on Beale St. in San Franciso and surrounding areas, Jordan Poole has been a bright spot for the Warriors despite their woes and losing record.

We’re going to take a closer look at what’s troubling the Golden State Warriors.

DEEP DIVE:

DEFENSE
The Warriors defense is awfully bad right now. At times the team looks so lost on defense. No one is guarding anyone, only an area. Pick-and-roll defense is played at an elementary school level. There’s no communication at all. Did you mention rebounding? You shouldn’t have, because the Warriors run from rebounds at this point.

I believe the Warriors biggest problem defensively this season is their missing defensive mastermind Mike Brown, head coach of the Sacramento Kings. Not only this season, but going forward I believe no Mike Brown, will be the Warriors biggest problem for years to come.

I’ll explain more in detail why the Warriors will miss Mike Brown in the next Warriors deep dive.

NO STEPH CURRY
Disaster struck the Warriors and things went from bad to worst in the game against the Indiana Pacers.

Steph Curry suffered a shoulder injury attempting a steal playing help defense with no physical contact to the shoulder. It was reported that Steph would miss several weeks due to the injury.

Steph was having an MVP caliber season prior to the injury. Some went as far as to say that this season Steph was having this far was in comparison to his unanimous MVP season. In reality, Curry has been almost single-handedly carrying the Warriors this season.

It remains unclear how long Steph Curry will be sidelined for. In the meantime Jordan Poole will have to step up in other ways besides scoring to best give the Warriors a chance to stay afloat in the Play-In tournament range.

JORDAN POOLE IS ASCENDING

Jordan Poole is averaging 19.0 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 3.1 TPG this season.

In the last 10 games, he’s averaged 24.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 4.9 APG, 0.6 SPG, 3.7 TPG.

Though the Warriors got pounded by the Knicks, Jordan Poole finished with 26 points making that his 4th straight 20-point game. He scored 20 against the Pacers and, 29 versus the 76ers.

Poole finished with a career-high 43 points (14-23 FG, 5-11 3Pt, 10-11 FT) 1 rebound, 6 assists, and 1 steal during Sundays 126-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors helping end the Warriors losing streak.

Draymond Green looked at the win against the Raptors as a blueprint for the Warriors to win moving forward.

“It provides a blueprint,” Green said. “We know how we have to play. Shots aren’t going to always go in like they did tonight, but we played good basketball. Usually when you play good basketball, shots are reward you.”

The next step Poole should take is to evolve his playmaking skills and capabilities. With Steph out and being paid as the man, comes great responsibility. We all know Poole can shoot and score with the best of best, he’s in the gym everyday with the Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Now is the time for Jordan Poole to focus on being a better all-around player and leader.

The Warriors are not only asking Jordan Poole to score a lot more, which he has been responding impressively, but their asking him to play the point guard position more effectively and play better defense. In this case ready or not, Poole must put the Warriors on his shoulders.

ROAD LOSSES

The Warriors were convincingly blown out in New York by the Knicks. The loss to the Knicks dropped the Warriors to 3-15 on the road. No other team has lost more than 13 games on their travels so far this season.

Warriors have one more game left on this road trip, which is tonight against Kevin Durant and the red-hot Brooklyn Nets who is 9-1 in their last ten games. Odds say it’ll be another road loss for the Warriors.

It doesn’t really get any easier at home for the Warriors though they are home for the next eight games.

They face the surging hot Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and the Phoenix Suns.

CONCLUSION

The Warriors are struggling to find a balance between developing their young talent and winning games. The biggest challenge to it all has been doing it while facing adversity. Mike Brown isn’t coming back any time soon so the Warriors must figure out their defensive problems first and foremost or else they’ll have an early ending season with time to figure out the roster.

With Steve Kerr as the leader in charge, you have to trust that the Warriors will figure things out step by step. Hopefully the New Year will bring some good fortune for Golden State.

Follow Melo on Twitter/Instagram: @_MeloWilliams