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The Golden State Warriors are now 8-8 for the season. Just when it seemed like the Warriors had established a rhythm, struggles with the starting lineup plague the team and they’re right back where they started.
Through it all, it seems that no one has the answer to help solve this problem just yet. After a loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday, Warriors’ star forward Draymond Green reveals what is frustrating him about the team currently.
Green Has No Answer
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Sluggish playing and no chemistry has been the issue with the Warriors’ starting lineup so far this season, and Saturday night against the Jazz was no different. The Jazz started off the game leading 19-2 in the first quarter.
After the game when Green was asked if he knew why the starting lineup wasn’t working, he simply responded, “I don’t know.”
“If I had an answer, I’d give it to our squad,” said Green. “I don’t know. We just got to figure it out.”
With their dynasty days becoming more of a distant memory, Green has had to take on a different role as a leader with the Warriors’ new young lineup. New teammate Kelly Oubre Jr. has been inconsistent the entire season and rookie James Wiseman is still trying to unlock his potential as he adjusts to being in the NBA.
When recently asked about changing the starting lineup, head coach Steve Kerr was advocating patience, saying he needed at least 20 games to determine if this lineup would work. However, the Warriors are now 16 games into the 2020-21 NBA season and the same question remains. Part of this issue that is troubling the Warriors is their lack of identity.
The Key to the Warriors Finding Success
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As of now, the team has yet to establish any type of consistency from game to game.
According to Green in a press conference with reporters after the game on Saturday, the Warriors need to somehow find their identity in order to be successful.
“We got to find an identity as a team. Sometimes we move the ball, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we defend, sometimes we don’t…Are we gonna be a ball movement team or an iso team?”
Green also hit on the team’s struggles of focusing on ball movement and defense. Not only did the Warriors come out flat against the Jazz, but in a tough matchup against the New York Knicks on Thursday where they lost 119-104 suffering the same struggles.
On the defensive end, Kerr couldn’t turn up their efforts allowing six of the players on the Jazz to score in double digits. Scoring 36 points in the third was still not enough for the Warriors to overcome the offensive force of the Jazz.
Green did not have a standout performance against the Jazz, being held to only four points, four rebounds, and six assists. The Warriors were once again reliant upon the scoring of All-Star Steph Curry who finished the game with 24 points.
With an even eight wins and eight losses, the Warriors are sitting at eighth place in a tough Western Conference. The team shares the same record as the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs. As it seems, the Warriors still have a long season ahead of them as they struggle to find their consistency and true identity on both ends of the floor.
The Warriors will have another opportunity to hopefully get back in tune as they face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight.
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