There is an old Chinese saying that "misfortune is not alone", which should be on today's Warriors.
This morning, the Warriors just announced that James Wiseman, a second-year center with high hopes from the team, will miss the rest of the season due to repeated injuries, and then in the away game against the Hawks, they collapsed in the third quarter and lost the game in a regrettable way.
It was the Warriors' fourth loss in the past five games, and after Stephen Curry's injury, they have been reversed twice in four days, the last time to the Eastern Conference vice president Magic and today to the Hawks, who have not even confirmed qualification for the playoffs.
The Warriors got off to a strong start to the season, winning at home to the Heat on Jan. 4 and finishing with an excellent record of 29 wins and 7 losses in the first 36 games of the season, ranking first in the league. Considering that Thompson and Wiseman were still recuperating at the time, people saw the hope of "dynastic restoration" again.
Klay's home game against the Cavaliers on Jan. 10 began with a series of injuries — first Green took a break from a disc injury for more than two months and waited until he returned , and Curry was sidelined for at least two weeks because of a foot injury — the long-awaited "Big Three" that strictly only happened last week with the Wizards and Celtics.
The impact of injuries is not only that someone can't play, it also destroys the rotation rhythm of the entire team and the chemistry between teammates.
Taking young guard Jordan Poole as an example, in the first half of the season, because of Clay's injury, he was entrusted with a heavy responsibility, as a starting game can average 18.3 points, successfully filling the firepower gap left by Klay's absence, is an important contributor to the Warriors' all the way to the top of the league.
However, with Thompson's return, Poole was relegated to the bench, at one point acting unsuitable and even frustrated by the struggle for a new role. From his first time on the bench on Jan. 2 to his away game against the Timberwolves on March 2, Poole averaged just 14.2 points per game in 28 consecutive games, shooting only 42.4 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from three-point range.
The good news is that after two months of adjustment and adaptation, Poole has finally slowly regained his feel and confidence. From march 4 away to the Lone Ranger, to the last game against the Heat, he has scored more than 20 points in 11 consecutive games, shooting 54.6% from the field and 50.5% from three-point range during that time, which is terrifyingly efficient considering that he has nearly 10 three-point shots per game!
After Curry was injured, Poole was even more heavily responsible, fully playing a stand-in role. According to statistics, in the past three games, Poole has touched the ball an average of 96.0 times per game, ranking first in the league in the same period, and the second place is the Nuggets' MVP candidate Nikola Jokic, averaging 94.7 times per game.
Today's game, Poole continued his fiery feel, shooting 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter, and at the end of halftime, he and Clay had each scored 22 points, a total of 16 shots and 10 of 16 outside the three-point line, quite a bit of "new splash brothers" flavor. Led by the two's surging firepower, the Warriors once took an 11-point lead.
However, "Baby Curry" is not real Curry after all, in the second half Poole's feel declined, 9 shots were lost, and only 2 points were scored by free throws. Although he contributed in other areas, eventually delivering a career-high 10 assists, the Warriors were played by their opponents in the third quarter to play a 32-16 single-quarter score, and finally swallowed the bitter fruit of the loss at 110-121.
To be fair, although Poole was a bit of a tiger today, the overall performance was still remarkable, 24 points and 10 assists, which was a good report card anyway, and Clay played one of his best personal performances after his comeback, 9 of 16 from outside the three-point line and 37 points, reminiscent of the crazy performance with the Bucks three weeks ago. The difference is that the Warriors won that time and lost today.
There is another important difference between playing the Bucks on March 13 and playing the Eagles today: When the Bucks were played, Curry was still there, while today, Curry can only watch from the sidelines. Although Curry only scored 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting against the Bucks, this is the magic of "Curry has gravity", as long as he is on the court, even if he does not score a point, it will attract the most attention from opponents and make it easier for others to play.
The data proves that even though Curry struggled slightly in his personal form in the second half of the season, he is still one of the most influential players in the league. To date, he still averages a whopping +8.0 per game, second in the league, behind Jason Tatum's +8.2 points.
Even when Curry was on the floor, the Warriors' defensive performance was significantly better, and he conceded 103.4 points per 100 games, second only to Iguodala, Dream chaser and Peyton Jr. in the team!
With or without Curry, the Warriors are two completely different teams, and the only question is: after Curry returns, how can he coexist with Klay and Poole to maximize the team's offensive potential? Poole has worked perfectly with Curry at the backcourt, and recently partnered Clay, and at the same time, he went on a killing spree. But when all three people are there, does someone have to make a sacrifice?
In fact, before Curry was injured in this accident, Kerr had already given the answer: Poole returned to the starting lineup in the battle against the Bucks, and then against the Wizards and Celtics, they also started at the same time as Curry and Klay. Although Green only participated in two of those three games, and they were all substitutes, judging from Kerr's change operation today, it is very likely that when Curry returns in the future, the Warriors will re-sacrifice the "Death Five".
Cole moved Iguodala into the starting line after trailing the Cavaliers 1-2 in the 2015 Finals, winning three consecutive games with a small lineup without a center, and for many years after that, the "Death Five" was his ultimate killer move.
Today against the Hawks, Kerr removed Kevin Rooney, who started the first 73 games of the season, to the bench, put Green in the fifth position, and played four with Cuminga, although it was not a success in terms of win-loss results, but it was likely to be a "pre-attempt" for him, just like Clay had to change to the bench before Clay returned.
When Curry returns in the future, the Warriors' starting lineup may be composed of Curry, Poole, Thompson, Wiggins and Green, and at that time, the Warriors will usher in the ultimate "death five".
The data shows that the trio of Curry, Klay and Poole has been very effective on the court: so far, the three people have played 129 minutes at the same time, during which the Warriors scored 121.7 points per 100 rounds, conceded only 89 points per 100 rounds, and scored 32.6 points per 100 rounds! Although the sample is not too large, it can still illustrate a certain problem.
Regrettably, because of injuries, the Warriors have never tried to have five of the best players on their team on the floor at the same time, so the exact effect is unknown.
But on the other hand, it is precisely because of this that we are more curious and expectant of this theoretically strongest lineup.