Historic Loss to Celtics Shows Warriors Aren’t Ready to Compete

The Warriors have had a rough year, and despite some recent optimism, things aren’t getting better. In fact, the team just hit an all time low. They recently fell hard to the Celtics in a lopsided loss so bad many are now wondering if Golden State is a playoff team at all. Right now, it doesn’t seem that way.

(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

The squad is floundering with no end in sight. Though they still have Stephen Curry and Draymond Green leading the way, it’s now apparent that those two might not be enough to carry what has ultimately become a pretty mediocre squad.

At the start of the season, everyone was producing. The bench had a lot of shooters, the stars were putting up big stats, and the rotation worked. Now, two months later, that’s all in shambles. The Celtics loss wasn’t just a tough defeat, it felt more like a death knell for a team with little to no hope left.

A Bad Wakeup Call

The matchup was a far cry from the title games that occurred just three years ago. While the Celtics looked like they still have it, the Warriors seemed completely lost in every phase of the game.

Golden State couldn’t play defense, struggled to shoot, and were pretty much ran off the court by the time the fourth quarter came around. They were down fifteen at half, and that gap widened to 34 by the end of the third quarter.

When it was all said and done, the Celtics came out on top 125-85. That 40 point loss wasn’t just bad. It’s the worst home loss for the Warriors since Steve Kerr took over in 2014, and the most lopsided home defeat for the franchise since 1985.

Though both teams were at the top of the NBA when they last faced off in the Finals, this season they’re going in opposite directions. The win moved the Celtics to 30-13 and put them into second place in the Eastern Conference. The loss dropped the Warriors to 21-21 and 11th place in the West.

Golden State has had their share of struggles this season, but the most recent contest shows they just aren’t close to the top teams in the current NBA. Even if they somehow sneak into the playoffs, it’s hard to see how they’ll compete.

One Star Isn’t Enough

Looking at the Warriors roster, it’s easy to see why they lost to a better Celtics team. Boston is at full strength, while Golden State is dealing with a slew of injuries. They weren’t much better before the ailments, but they are surely worse now.

Jonathan Kumings is still out with an ankle injury, Brandin Podziemski has missed significant time with abdominal damage, and Draymond Green also skipped the game. Add on the fact that Andrew Wiggins has missed games here and there and it’s easy to see the source of the Warriors’ struggles.

Curry put up his usual strong performance, with 18 points, four assists, and three rebounds, but not a single other starter scored more than seven. In fact, Moses Moody was the only other player on the team to score in double digits.

That lack of support has been a huge issue for the Warriors this season, and it’s only gotten more and more apparent as the year’s gone on.

A Lid on the Basket

The Warriors have many issues right now, but the biggest is their offense. Even with Curry, they don’t have any real firepower. That’s something hanging over their head, and it’s been the core of most of their issues lately.

The 40-point loss reinforced that problem. Everyone on the team knows they can’t score, which is a big problem because they don’t have a ton of fight in them once things aren’t going their way.

“A big part of our season has been when we can’t score, we lose spirit,” Curry said when discussing the team's struggles. “We lose life. We lose competitiveness.”

That issue is common with young or inexperienced teams, but Golden State doesn’t have the ability to wait for the next few years while everyone gets on the same page. They have aging stars and a rather limited window before needing to revamp.

Maybe Next Year

The loss to the Celtics is more of the same for Golden State and, while fans might want them to make a big move, that seems more and more unlikely with each passing game. The team doesn’t have a great core right now, nor do they want to mortgage their entire future on what may well be a lost season.

If they were to bring someone in, the move would have to instantly turn things around. The likes of Jimmy Butler or Giannis Antetokounmpo would do that, but getting a superstar comes with a price tag Golden State is simply not willing to pay.

“I don’t think there’s interest in Butler,” said ESPN insider Ohm Youngmisuk. “But if they were to do that, you can’t take a swing then if things go bad in Milwaukee with Giannis this summer. And that is why you have to hold onto your assets to make a run at a guy like that.”

No one knows for sure if the Warriors plan to do, but one thing is for sure. If they don’t make a move by the deadline they are likely calling it quits on this season and looking towards the next.