© Cary Edmondson | 2019 Nov 1
It’s no surprise that Friday’s game at Chase Center felt different. Not just different than the last five seasons, when the Warriors were somewhere from title contenders to title favorites at any point during that span. It was also different than the decades where the Warriors were bereft of talent, and had little chance of sniffing the playoffs.
Even those teams, who were mostly terrible, had hope five games into the season. Hope that Monta Ellis would make the leap, hope that the recent top 10 draft pick (of which there were many) would prove to be something special.
Now that Curry is gone, the only thing anyone is hoping for from the 2019-20 Warriors is a top 10 pick.
The season, in any pragmatic sense, is lost. There is not enough talent on this team to compete in a loaded Western Conference, even with D’Angelo Russell’s All-Star credentials. Think of how the 49ers felt after the deflating loss of Jimmy Garoppolo early last season.
All that followed felt obligatory.
That’s not to say the Warriors (1-4) didn’t compete on Friday in a 127-110 loss to the San Antonio Spurs (4-1) and Gregg Popovich, even if the final score didn’t reflect it.
With Curry, the Warriors have laid down in all of three of their previous losses. For the first time in Chase Center history, they didn’t.
While the losses of Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant made the Warriors less effective, the loss of Stephen Curry has changed the team’s identity. With Russell running the show, Steve Kerr’s egalitarian, ball-movement oriented offense, gave way for a slower, iso-heavy pick-and roll operation.
Maybe it’s not as aesthetically pleasing, but the D-Lo show was effective in the first half. Russell dropped 19 points, assisted on four more, and did so with flair. Golden State went toe to toe with the San Antonio for the first 24 minutes, and entered halftime down just two (57-55).
Berman voice: WHHAAP pic.twitter.com/7iHU4AQEaS
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 2, 2019
The Warriors remained in the game for the better part of three quarters, doing a number of things they haven’t done with any consistency up to this point. They shot extremely well from deep (46 percent from 3). They played their best team defense of the season (Russell excluded), even if they Spurs still shot (47.8 percent from the field).
There were other positives: Russell was deadly in the pick-and-roll, scoring 30 points and dishing eight assists. Alec Brurks looked comfortable in his second extended run, dropping 14 points in 16 minutes. First-round pick Jordan Poole dropped 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Draymond had a classic 6-7-8 line in 34 minutes. Damion Lee worked his tail off as always, finishing with 16 points.
Oh yeah, and David Lee stopped by and received a (sort of) standing ovation.
David Lee in the ? pic.twitter.com/o943ODHzvQ
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 2, 2019
In the end, the Spurs largely hurt the Warriors on wide open shots created by impeccable ball movement. Patty Mills cooked Russell repeatedly for 31 points. Aldridge took advantage of the Warriors’ lack of depth down low for 22 of his own. They turned the ball over just 11 times.
This is likely how most games will go this season. D-Lo will have high scoring and assist numbers with an elevated usage rate. The Warriors will compete hard because they are well coached, prideful and Draymond Green won’t allow otherwise. But they’ll lose more often than not, and their competitiveness will only keep them involved for so long.
Welcome to the 2019-20 season Warriors fans. It’s gonna be a long one.