A review of the Warriors' 10 abysmal losses this season: time is running out for them

原文编译自：The Athletic

作者：Marcus Thompson II

原标题：Thompson: Warriors keep slipping in the well, and they’re almost out of jumps

Note: This article was originally published after the Warriors' loss to the Knicks

When the frog falls into the bottom of a 10-foot deep well. With each jump, it can jump up to 3 feet. But then it slips and falls, 2 feet back.

But now the pressing question is: How many jumps do you need to get the Golden State Warriors out of the play-in tournament?

Stephen Curry said after Monday's 119-112 loss to the New York Knicks: "A week or two ago, the No. 6 seed was the driving force for the team, and now I don't care about our ranking at all. The continuity of our play, that's all that matters. Because honestly, who cares what seed you are? If you're playing like we did tonight — then it doesn't matter if it's sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth. Because you won't go very far. ”

The frog at the bottom of the well is a math puzzle.

Of course, this is also a philosophical deduction about momentum, a tug-of-war between forward and backward. Why can't regression be stopped? At some point, the trend of another setback should become apparent, prompting people to adopt another approach. At some point, ability, experience, desperation, willpower, and luck are likely to combine to prompt people to explode in boredom. Or maybe that's what it is, meeting the frustrations that keep coming up again and again.

After seven jumps and slips, the frog will jump to seven feet tall. On top of that, it has a view of the wellhead. When you are at the bottom of the well, the color of the sky will appear extraordinarily bright. The frog has extra motivation for the next jump. It can taste freedom. And, in order to show his love for Miss Page, the frog will go all out for his eighth jump to get out of the boring cycle.

Whenever you think the Warriors have come this far, they'll play a dumb show with no motivation or brutally squander the victory they dropped. They were good enough to crush Milwaukee, beat Boston, and beat the Pacers in Indiana. Their 18 away wins are tied for the 11th most in the league. But whatever progress they made, it seemed almost inevitable to be punctuated by an ill-timed defeat.

The Warriors picked up a major road win against the Los Angeles Lakers last Saturday. They came back in good form at home. It would be a big plus if we could win four in a row. Also, the Knicks are missing two starters: Julius Randle (shoulder injury) and O.G. Anunoby (elbow injury). Jalen Brunson did his thing, scoring 34 points on 25-flight shooting. But what's the difference? What's the difference? The Warriors were blown up by Miles McBride, who scored 29 points, eight more than his career-high high. They can't match the presence and energy of Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said: "We're not good enough. It's that simple. We just didn't play well enough. It's disappointing because we have three home games left this week and we want to get started on the right track. But it was a very good team and they just beat us. "

This season, the Warriors have lost a long list of bad games that have been determined by the Warriors' ability to maximize their talent, experience, and depth. If we're to rank the 10 worst losses of the year, the loss against the Knicks would surely be on the list, selected for where the Warriors are this season, the opportunities they can take and their stellar performance in Los Angeles.

Well, let's get started!

1. Defeat to the Nuggets on January 5

"That's the first thing that comes to my mind," Curry said. ”

It was the biggest crash of the season. With 6:51 left in the game, the Warriors led by 18 points at home. They scored just four points next with two free throws from Curry and a layup by Tracy Jackson Davis. Of course, Nikola Jokic hit one of the best 40-foot shots of the season at the final whistle.

2. On November 28, Sacramento collapsed

It was the Warriors' first late-quarter crash in the final game of the midseason tournament. They led by 21 points at one point, but still led by five points with 58 seconds left in the race. Curry's mistakes and Draymond Green's mistakes led to Malik Monk scoring five straight points, the final of which was the deciding shot. Curry tried to pull off the lore, but failed.

3. On March 9, he lost San Antonio without fighting spirit

Curry was sidelined two weeks ago. But the Warriors still lost at home to the worst team in the West, and in a game they needed to win. Spurs don't even have Victor Wembanyama in their roster. You can't be left defenseless by Jeremy Sochan and Maracai Branham in the fight for the No. 6 seed.

4. On November 18 and December 8, they lost both games against the Thunder

The Warriors hit two winning shots, or what should have been the winners. On Nov. 18, at the Chase Center, Andrew Wiggins hit the winning three-pointer with three seconds left in the game. But Wiggins also made a mistake in one of the cuts, and then Chet Holmgren hit a three-pointer that equalized the game. On Oklahoma on Dec. 8, Stephen Curry hit a key three-pointer with 19 seconds left in the game to give the Warriors the lead. Green was fouled on Holmgren's shot with 7 seconds left in the game. Holmgren hit all three free throws. In both games, the Warriors lost in overtime.

5. On January 15, in Memphis was eliminated

If McBride's random career night feels familiar, it's probably because it's happened to the Warriors several times this season. One of the memorable examples took place on Independence Day in the United States. Rookie Jackson II played a real highlight in Game 2, scoring 23 points. Vince Williams Jr. scored 24 points. The 5-foot-9-inch undrafted point guard Jacob Gilyard has also been unstoppable at times. The Warriors lost to the Grizzlies without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Steven Adams, and Marcus Smart.

6. On December 2, the lead was wasted in a game against the Clippers

Another 20-point lead came to naught. The Clippers were struggling at the time (8-10) and the Warriors had beaten them just two days earlier in San Francisco. However, they scored only 20 points in the fourth quarter. In the final 4 minutes and 26 seconds, they scored just one goal. Still, they took a four-point lead with 38 seconds left in the game, but lost the game to Paul George's three-pointer. At every critical moment, the Clippers succeeded.

7. On March 7, they lost at home to Chicago

Losing to the Bulls isn't scary. The Chicago Bulls have some great players and have had some big wins. But at home, having just experienced a near-perfect performance against Milwaukee, the Warriors weren't playing as well as they should. Especially on the defensive end. Curry's fourth-quarter ankle injury made the defeat even worse, losing two more of his next three games.

8. On January 7, it was ruthlessly destroyed by the Raptors

Remember the long home game back in December and January, when the Warriors nearly lost to the Pistons, who were 3-31 at the time. They had a chance to finish their home game strongly, with a win rate back to 50 per cent. However, they were destroyed by a losing team in Toronto. This was after R. Barrett and Emmanuel Quickley were traded from the Knicks, and Pascal Siakam was sent to Indiana. The Raptors, who had a strong high wing, led 40-21 in the second quarter and led by 27 points at halftime. It was one of the most frustrating games of the season for the Warriors.

9. Then there is the Pelican on January 10th

The Warriors have two days to reflect on the harrowing defeat to the Toronto Raptors. They have to face a Western powerhouse coming to the Chase Center. It's time for form to bounce back, right? No. They were blown up again. The Pelicans led by 19 points at the end of the first quarter and never fought back since, winning 141-105. The Warriors ended a seven-game home streak with a 2-5 record.

In the twists and turns of the season, while obstacles have been overcome, the baton has often been dropped, and the Warriors started their latest home schedule with a loss to the Knicks on Monday. The New York Knicks are a strong team. Losing to the No. 4 seed in the East isn't inherently bad. But, man, they can be defeated. And the Warriors have no time to escape.

Will they be able to make epic leaps and bounds before it's too late?

Curry said: "Sure, I'm sorry to give you a short answer, but it's definitely true. "

Well, if you feel like a frog.