Since Steve Kerr took over as the Dubs' head coach, they became a championship-caliber team. Since 2014-2015 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors have a combined 190-35 win-loss record. They have reached the NBA Finals for two consecutive seasons and winning the NBA title in 2015.
With the addition of Kevin Durant this season, they managed to be at the top of the NBA once again. With a 50-11 win-loss record, they have the best record in the NBA and own a 3.0 game lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the West. But with Kevin Durant being injured in the game against the Washington Wizards, they lost back-to-back games.
The Warriors hadn't lost two consecutive games in the regular season since April 5 and 7, 2015. Their 146-game run of not losing back-to-back games was the longest stretch in NBA history, as per Yahoo Sports. But with loss against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday and defeat against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, their streak was over.
A lot of factors could attribute to the Dubs' late struggles. But one obvious reason is the injury of Kevin Durant.
On Tuesday against the Wizards, Durant suffered a Grade 2 medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain and tibial bone bruise, as per ESPN. There is no timetable for his return. But he will be re-evaluated again after four weeks.
Durant's injury had a big impact to the Warriors' struggle over the past two games. The Dubs is averaging 117.5 points per game. But in their last two games without KD, they only average 99.5 points per game.
Although the Warriors claimed the best regular season in NBA history last season even without KD on their roster, it is evident that this years' team is not as deep as last year's team. In order to get Durant into the mix, they sacrifice key players like Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Marressee Speights and Leandro Barbosa.
This year's reserves are far weaker than last year. The Warriors are doing so great because for almost the whole game, they have either Durant or Curry facilitating the offense. But with Durant's absence, their offense will surely suffer.
Aside from Durant's offensive skills, it was his underrated defense that the Dubs might miss. He is averaging 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks in 59 games with the Warriors, as per BASKETBALL REFERENCE. He tied his career high in rebounding average and having his career high in blocks average.
With Durant's injury, the Warriors will miss his length and shot blocking ability on the floor. Draymond Green is a defensive player candidate. But other players like Klay Thompson, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and new acquisition Matt Barnes need to step up defensively to fill in the void of Durant's absence on the defensive end.
The other big factor in the Dubs' recent struggle is Stephen Curry. Curry is averaging only 24.8 points per game this season, which is far from his MVP-type performance last season with 30.1 point per game. Curry's scoring drop is expected given the fact that former scoring champion Durant is also on the team. But with Durant being sidelined for the past two games, Curry is still not showing his MVP-caliber form.
Over the past two games, he only averages 24.0 points per game. This is a decent number. But he struggled to get buckets efficiently. He only shot a combined 19-47 from the field and a woeful 4-20 from three-point territory.
Now that KD is gone for at least 4 weeks, the Warriors are in a critical position right now. They only have a three-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs. So finishing as the top team in the West is not a guarantee now for the Dubs.
But for them to hold on to that spot, they need their MVP back to being unstoppable. Their consecutive defeats just only show that they need the MVP-type of performance from Curry in order to win games. Aside from that, other players need to step up to fill in KD's absence.
With KD's long absence, will the Warriors maintain as the top team in the NBA? Or will other teams like the Cavs, Spurs and Rockets emerge as the best? And now that KD is gone temporarily, will Stephen Curry get back to its MVP-form or will he continue his shooting woes?
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