In the NBA Christmas War, the Warriors lost to the Nuggets, their 5-game winning streak was ended, and the Nuggets won 5 consecutive wins. In this game, the Warriors faced the defending champions, but they actually had a chance to win, and they led in the final quarter, but unfortunately they still lost, which is a pity. The Splash Brothers were all terrible, with Curry scoring 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting, including 3-of-13 three-pointers. Klay shot 3-of-12 from the field and finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds, so that Klay scored 20+ points in 6 consecutive games and was stopped.
How bad was Klay's performance in this game? In addition to the sluggish statistics, there were many times in the game that Klay was too slow to shoot, and Porter blocked, allowing the Nuggets to play a fast break, causing the Warriors to lose points. This includes 73 seconds left in the game, when the Warriors trailed by 6 points and urgently needed to chase the points, Klay's outside shot was blocked by Porter again.
On the defensive end, Klay's contribution is also much smaller, in the past, Klay was the league's top defensive player, but now in the face of the Nuggets with strong strength and excellent physical confrontation, Klay does not have many ways, and many times he has been stepped by the opponent, which is very embarrassing. During this period, Clay also had a low-level error that dribbled out of bounds.
You must know that when the game entered the last 4 minutes, Klay was still sitting on the bench, many people thought that Kerr would play an iron fist against the Suns, that is, if he didn't perform well, he would be on the bench, Klay had such an experience before, and in this game against the Nuggets, he played very well, but later Klay still replaced Kuminga and chose to believe in the meritorious veteran, which is also the point that many fans complained about Kerr after the game, and those who did not perform well should be pressed on the bench, rather than choosing to trust unconditionally.
Obviously, Klay did not continue his excellent form, in fact, before facing the Nuggets, Klay's performance was still very good, scoring in 6 consecutive games to break the 20-point mark, but in the game with high attention, Klay was lost again, and if he wants to compete for the championship, the defending champion almost has to be a head-on opponent, it is obvious that both the Warriors and Klay have not done enough.
Of course, the Warriors still have time and opportunity to adjust, and their goal this season is first and foremost to make the playoffs in the competitive West.