The All-Star break is here, and the Warriors are a mediocre team.
This season, the reigning champions have never been more than two games over .500. They’ve never been more than three games below .500. They’ve won half their games at virtually every point of the schedule.
With Tuesday’s 134-124 loss to the Clippers in the Crypto.com Arena, the Warriors (29-29), fittingly, head into the break in the familiar spot they’ve found themselves for most of the year: with as many wins as losses.
Neither Stephen Curry (knee) nor Andrew Wiggins (personal) played against the Clippers, emblematic of a rocky campaign featuring players who haven’t been able to stay in the lineup. GSW’s defense, elite last year but ranked 16th now, allowed the Clippers to shoot 53.3% from the field and 47.2% from deep.
The loss brings the Warriors to 7-22 on the road — among the worst marks in the NBA and already clinching a losing record away from the Chase Center.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ last contest before the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City.
LA’s deadline acquisitions can play
The Clippers had an interesting deadline, making wholesale changes to the bench that some viewed as the deepest in the league heading into the year. John Wall, Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard waved goodbye. Mason Plumlee, Bones Hyland and Eric Gordon entered.
The three-for-three swap probably doesn’t move mountains. But the trio that’s joining the Clippers might fit LA’s star wings better than the ones leaving.
Hyland and Gordon can stretch the floor as shooters. Plumlee is a serviceable backup big. They all fill holes that the redundant Jackson/Wall pair couldn’t.
All three Clippers newbies made a strong impact against the Warriors. Plumlee in particular produced solid minutes behind starter Ivica Zubac, defending with his arms straight up at the rim and logging eight points, five rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes.
If the Clippers, already heralded for their depth, got even deeper, their deadline may have gone under the radar. And especially compared to the Warriors — who acquired Gary Payton II, who likely won’t play this regular season — they got the boost they needed.
A fun Draymond-Kawhi matchup
Rarely does Draymond Green draw a perimeter player assignment from the jump, and even more rarely is that player as dynamic as Kawhi Leonard. But without Andrew Wiggins (personal), the Warriors didn’t have much of a choice but to start Green on the Clippers’ best player.
With Donte DiVincenzo tracking Paul George, and Klay Thompson not at his peak defensive ability, Green was Golden State’s best option.
It looked like when Green was matched up with Leonard in the half court, the Clippers avoided going to Leonard — a testament to Green’s earned reputation. When Leonard tried to isolate Green, the Warriors forward did a tremendous job staying down on head feints, hesitations and pump fakes.
After hitting a couple open jumpers against non-Green defenders, Leonard drilled an absurd fadeaway over Green’s tight contest at the end of a shot clock. Green flashed him a smile on the jog back to the other end of the court.
On one possession in the second quarter, Green cut off Leonard’s driving lane, then switched onto Zubac and boxed him out. The 10-second activity was Draymond Green in a nutshell.
Leonard started cooking, and finished with an absurd 33 points on 12-for-17 shooting. But most of his damage came against defenders other than Green. When they faced off, it was at least competitive.
Klay takes a big step
For the first time since 2019, before his consecutive major injuries derailed his prime, Klay Thompson played in both games of a back-to-back.
It might not seem like much, but that’s a major accomplishment for a future Hall of Famer who has been through unbearable struggles to get healthy.
Understandably, the Warriors have proceeded with extreme caution with Thompson. They’ve monitored his minutes and followed the medical staff’s recommendation of holding him out of back-to-backs. Having an eight-day layoff after Tuesday with the All-Star break obviously factored into the decision to push him against the Clippers.
Early on, Thompson looked like a guy who hasn’t played in back-to-backs for four years. He misfired on his first three shots — all open jumpers — and traveled in his first six-minute stint.
But he got going a bit in the second quarter, banking in a floater and sinking a stare-down 3 over Paul George. His off-ball movement also created a wide open Ty Jerome 3.
Thompson had a decent game, converting half his field goal attempts and dropping 18 points. But against a Clippers team that stayed scorching hot all night, the Warriors needed even more from him.
