The Bucks' home game against the Warriors, the defending champion against the Second Place in the West, was supposed to be a strong conversation between the tip of the needle and McMan, but the final result was a big surprise, and the Warriors suffered a two-game losing streak in the 99-118 away game.
The 19-point defeat may not be surprising, but what is really surprising is that the Warriors have no ability to fight back in the game, trailing by as many as 30 points in the second quarter of the game, and at most they have fallen behind to 39 points, and have lost the suspense of winning and losing before the half is over.
"Splash Brothers" Curry and Thompson had a bad performance in this game, Curry shot 4 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 6 three-pointers, only 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Thompson shot 3 of 11, including 7 of 7 three-pointers, and had 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
As the hottest and most projective duo in the league, the two shot a total of 13 three-pointers, only 4 hits, and the shooting rate was less than 30%. In fact, in the last game lost to the Grizzlies, the two only hit two three-pointers each, a total of 4 of 14. That is, for two consecutive games, the splash is gone!
The combined hits of just eight three-pointers in both games is an extremely substandard performance for the Splash Brothers, and not as good as the individual single-game output of either of them when they are in good shape.
In fact, it is not surprising that the Warriors and splash brothers have the current difficult situation, since Thompson's comeback, it is almost doomed that the Warriors will most likely usher in a painful period.
Considering that Thompson has experienced two major injuries and has not played in two and a half years, his performance in these three games after his comeback is satisfactory enough. But it's also clear that in order to help him integrate as quickly as possible, the whole team has to change the way of playing that has been familiar with the first half of the season for him.
As long as he's on the court, Curry has to sacrifice some of the ball and shots for him, and can't let go of it as he used to. Teammates also need to create as many opportunities as possible for him, and the most affected is Wiggins, who has averaged only 10, 13 and 16 points in the past three games, averaging 18.6 points per game.
Thompson's team status and the way he plays dictates that the Warriors must gamble on him, must maintain enough patience with him, and expect him to recover at least eight successes to make the peak Warriors come back to the scene. Therefore, even if Curry sacrifices some personal performances, the team sacrifices some records, and experiences some pain, it is inevitable.
When Thompson scored 17 points in the first game of his comeback, people thought that this was the return of a king like Durant, and the Warriors would have no pain and soared, but this wave of two consecutive losses seemed to prove that it was time to escape.
Of course, we can find the most direct reason for the bad performance of the Splash Brothers, that is, Green's absence, his absence has caused the Warriors' offensive and defensive system to collapse in half, without his service, the Splash Brothers have a lot less opportunities to make a comfortable shot. Without Green there, Curry and Thompson couldn't afford the fiercest splash.
Perhaps, when Green returns from injury, these problems will be solved and the pain will end. Or perhaps this dilemma will continue.