Sean Gardner/Getty Images Steve Kerr
The Golden State Warriors offense has hit a tough stretch recently. Over the first 20 games of the season, the team had the league’s second-highest offensive rating at 113.0. Since then the Warriors rating has fallen to 110.6, which ranks 12th in the league.
Injuries have certainly played a part in the Warriors’ struggles of late. Klay Thompson has just returned and Draymond Green has only played seven seconds in the last six games. Superstar Steph Curry also missed a game recently and has been in a rare shooting slump, shooting just 33.6% from three over the last ten games. According to a story from NBC Sports Bay Area, head coach Steve Kerr offered his take on why the team has been struggling offensively.
“Well, we always talk about good to great here,” Kerr said. “When you look at our possessions, we’re taking a lot of tough shots. For most of the year, and I think even now, we’re No. 1 in the league in expected field-goal percentage. Whether you want to validate that stat or not, it’s up to you. But I think there’s merit to it, generally it measures open shots.
“But over the last 10 games, that number has dropped. Consequently, our actual field-goal percentage has dropped. If you look at our possessions, we took some really difficult shots.”
No Need to Panic
Yes, the Warriors have struggled offensively, but the team is still off to a 30-10 start this season. Despite the offensive struggles, the teams defense hasn’t been affected. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Warriors rank first in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions at 102.9. During the recent offensive slump, they still rank second at 104.4.
Given the Warriors offensive history under Kerr, it’s fair to figure that the slump will eventually end. A shooter like Curry will eventually shoot himself out of his slump. With the return of Thompson, the team will eventually merge and get on the same page. Also, the return of the team’s best distributor in Green, will certainly help the offense. Once all of those things happen the Warriors should be able to get easier shots.
Upcoming Schedule Presents Opportunities
Starting on Sunday the Warriors schedule gets much easier next week. The team plays at the Timberwolves on Sunday, before returning home to take on the Pistons on Tuesday, Pacers on Thursday, and Rockets on Friday. The teams the Warriors play next week are a combined 54 games below .500 on the season.
With a string of very winnable games coming up, the Warriors should have some valuable opportunities to get healthy and figure things out. Once Green returns to the lineup, the team should all be able to gel together. Once the team gets back on the court together fully healthy and get some games under their belt, the offense should fall into place. The NBA season is just reaching the halfway point, so there is still plenty of time for the Warriors to figure things out. With the teams experience, fans just need to be a little patient while they figure it out.