The Warriors' performance after entering February is a bit sluggish! In 17 games, they only achieved a record of 8 wins and 9 losses, and the winning rate was not more than half, which made them not only lose the opportunity to compete for the 1st place in the West, but also did not even keep the 2nd place in the West, and were overtaken by the Grizzlies and dropped to the 3rd place in the West.
Why did the Warriors play more and more backwards? The reason is actually quite simple! First, the team lacks Green, so that the team's offensive rotation is no longer so smooth, the defensive end lacks the gate of Green, and it is full of loopholes, the attack and defense have declined in an all-round way, and the record has also fallen.
In addition, Curry and Wiggins are not in very good shape, which is one of the reasons, but there is also a key factor, that is, Clay is playing too badly!
Clay was directly entrusted by Cole after his return from injury, playing the starting No. 2 position and having unlimited firing rights! Unfortunately, this former NBA top 3D player, but because of 2 years of injury recuperation, the state is not as good as before, this season played 21 games, after averaging 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists, the shooting rate is only 40.5%, far less than the original self!
Clay's performance is not strong, but he really occupies a lot of the Warriors' tactics and shooting power, which makes Wiggins and Poole have been greatly affected, especially Poole, who originally played smoothly in the starting position, and the data and performance have been greatly improved, but when Clay returned, Poole had no choice but to become a substitute, and Clay did not play the role of Pooler before, thus affecting the overall tactics and combat effectiveness of the Warriors, and the performance plummeted.
It can be said that the warriors' current problems, on the one hand, are Green's absence, on the other hand, caused by Clay's downturn, so if the team wants to break the dilemma, it depends on Whether Clay is not strong.
There was a lot of gossip outside and some doubts inside, clay faced a lot of pressure on and off the field, and under pressure, he finally completed the breakthrough and played the best game after his comeback.
The Warriors ushered in the challenge of the Bucks today, who previously ranked no. 2 in the East, and even won 6 consecutive wins, the state is not good, the Warriors are likely to lose the game without Green, but it is in this dangerous situation that Klay broke out.
Facing the Bucks, Kerr directly made a change of move, ranking Poole + Wiggins + Curry + Clay into the starting lineup, with a big center Looney to protect the rebound, the team's idea is more clear, is to play offensive battles with the Bucks.
Kerr's tactics worked well, and the Warriors came up with a tidal wave of offense, directly playing a 9:0 start! The Bucks then relied on constantly impacting the Warriors' weak interior line to chase points, and quickly equalized the score, but in the second quarter Klay stood up and scored 3 more points in a row, like "Buddha" reappeared, completely dominating the rhythm of the game and helping the Warriors to reopen the point difference.
Waiting to enter the second half, the Warriors' feel is even more uncontrollable, not only Clay is accurate, even Wiggins, Poole have been infected, the Warriors played out wave after wave of offensive climax, directly widened the point difference to more than 20 points, completely played the game, and finally easily defeated the Bucks 122:109.
The big battle with the Bucks is completely one-sided, and the biggest contributor is Clay! Played 34 minutes, 15 of 24 shots, 8 of 14 from 3-point range, and frantically cut down 38 points and 6 assists, the former "Buddha" reappeared, allowing Curry to score only 8 points to help the Warriors win the Bucks.
38 points and 6 assists, the "Buddha" we are familiar with is back, playing the Bucks powerless, such a warrior, who dares to say that it is not a favorite to win the championship.
Clay's performance after his comeback is indeed not very ideal, but it can be seen that with the increase of games, Clay's state is rising, and the Warriors have more than a dozen regular season games behind them, and the tempering of these games, even if Clay can't reach the peak, can also reach the peak of 80% of the skill, which is enough for the Warriors!
When Green returns, the Warriors can line up their strongest lineup, starting Curry + Klay + Wiggins + Green + Looney's big lineup, or replacing Looney with Porter or Poole to play a small lineup, the team can complete a seamless switch, whether it is offense or defense, it is easy to face every opponent in the playoffs! And this season's Warriors are not only the main force, Cuminga, Moody, Porter, Bjelica, Wiseman, can all contribute to the bench is not weak, in the absence of an absolute dominance this season, the Warriors are expected to return to the top and win the championship.