Thompson had his worst game of the season, shooting 1-of-11 from the field and 1-of-6 from three-point range for just three points, two rebounds and one assist. In the final moments of the game, Thompson sat on the bench with a glazed eye. The Warriors are on a three-game losing streak and have a 15-17 team record. Cole's change of formation didn't work. Paul returned to the starting line-up and rookie Jackson Davis started, but the defense was still terrible. In this battle, the Splash Brothers were in a slump. Curry finished with 25 points and 9 assists on 9-of-25 shooting, and his offensive efficiency was not high.
Warriors coach Kerr explained the reason for the change after the game: "We wanted to improve our defense, and in the last few weeks, our starting lineup didn't have good defensive stats, and I liked the energy shift that came with the change of lineup in the last few weeks, but the defensive end didn't play well, and we wanted to start the game with better defense." And then we also want to involve Curry more, and we feel that having Paul and Curry partner may unlock Curry's offense more. ”
However, it is clear that Kerr's wishes have been frustrated, with the Warriors failing to defend and allowing the Mavericks to score 132 points, and Curry's offensive performance is also poor.
Kerr's putting Paul back into the starting lineup was a big failure, as it had already proven unworkable at the start of the season. When Paul, Curry, and Thompson are on the floor together, the defense will be leaky, the roster will be lacking in height, and the athleticism will be poor. Paul's start-up with Splash didn't work well. So what effect does Davis' replacement for Looney have?
Davis is more energetic and aggressive in grabbing rebounds, but he lacks enough experience and is still a rookie player. Cole lost the game.
The root cause of the Warriors' three-game losing streak is that the effect of young players has failed. If the Warriors want to win and move forward, they still have to rely on big names like Curry, Thompson and Paul.
However, Curry's recent performances have been inconsistent, and so has Thompson. Curry averaged 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in December while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three-point range. Obviously, this isn't Curry's peak form, and it's not as good as he was in November.
Thompson scored 20+ points in six consecutive games in December, but during the three-game losing streak, his form dropped badly, scoring just 9, 13 and 3 points, respectively.
With Wiggins in a slump this season, it will be difficult for the Warriors to beat a strong team when the Splash Brothers are not playing well. The Warriors' previous 5-game winning streak covered up a lot of problems, in fact, the Warriors only defeated the Celtics during the 5-game winning streak, defeated the Trail Blazers twice, and also defeated the Nets and Wizards once, and the Warriors won all 4 games against weak teams.
The Warriors are only 8-17 this season against teams with a win percentage of 50% or higher, which means it will be difficult for the Warriors to compete with the strong teams. The Warriors rank first in the league with a total salary of $210 million this season, but they have too many problems to get back into contention.