After a 2023-24 season that was designed to be forgotten for the Golden State Warriors, the shock transfer of Klay Thompson seemed to set them back another step. With doubts lingering about how the team will fare in the 2024-25 season after missing the playoffs last season, Steph Curry and company’s first 15 games have erased all those doubts.
The Warriors, also nicknamed the Dubs, started the season strong after winning 12 games and losing only three of the first fifteen. Fans felt that this could be a comeback, and the Warriors could reach the playoffs for the 38th time in their 76-year history. But things have turned around as the Warriors are sitting in tenth place after losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers and their percentage has dropped to 0.500.
After struggling in the first stage of this competition, Dub Nation’s run is now 16-16, and in the 12 games they played in December, they have won only four. When their performance began to falter in November, they were averaging 114.9 points per game (PPG), which is considered the best average in the league. This dropped to 104.7 in December. To put it in perspective, their last rival the Cavaliers averaged more than 122 PPG in December.
While their PPG is down, a point worth noting is their defense which has seen a bit of a regression. Since November, the Warriors have averaged 8.3 steals per game. This has set them back, after Warriors defensive center Draymond Green appeared to be absent mid-game, suggesting he may have an injury. In the game against the LA Clippers, Green did not appear on the court until the end of the game. Although he returned to the Phoenix Suns, a game that saw the Warriors win in overtime, their next game against the Cavs gave him another injury scare, as he left the court in the third quarter, apparently in pain.
In the past two months, only Steph Curry and Jonathan Kuminga have done so with 518 and 446 points respectively.
This does not bode well for the Warriors who are already limping towards the finals. They will play their next game against the third-place Philadelphia 76ers, and they will be hoping for another turnaround, this time for the better.
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