The Golden State Warriors have a lot of pressure to find wins with a flawed roster in a very competitive NBA. A new report indicates that the Warriors believed that a locker room and front office change in how they handle adversity will make a difference. Last season featured excuses after Jimmy Butler got injured to see Golden State punt on the season. Stephen Curry missed most of the regular season, and the team failed to make the playoffs.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater revealed why the Warriors expect to see positive changes:
“The Warriors feel part of the reason for their 37-45 failure a season ago was a woe-is-me attitude about the schedule and injury misfortune, team sources said, so they have taken a purposeful no-excuse approach this regular season.”
Golden State has started the season by holding each other accountable and avoiding any excuses. Kristaps Porzingis getting ruled out indefinitely with his illness could have sparked the excuses that followed the team last season. However, the Warriors are now embracing the desire to win at all costs.
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg has represented this strongest by giving his all every night and exceeding expectations. Golden State still has a difficult path towards even getting a play-in seed, but it appears they have stronger confidence this season.
Is The New Golden State Warriors Mindset Working?
The early season results have seen the Warriors with a 1-3 start to the season. A surprising win on the road against the Denver Nuggets showed they could step up when called upon against objectively better teams.
Golden State needs to have more team efforts where the chemistry defeats teams with stronger overall talent. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray should have been enough to get past a struggling Warriors team yet to win before that night.
Curry is the only superstar talent on the Warriors, but role players like Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski are needed for the improvement. Golden State’s mindset is the talent they have will be expected to win, and no excuses will be thrown out when things get ugly. The 0-3 start saw the team holding each other accountable to turn the momentum around.
Warriors Want To Stay Afloat Until Healthy
The overall hope for Golden State is that they’ll be just good enough to stay in playoff contention until Butler and others return. Warriors’ fans hope to have Butler and Moses Moody back in the lineup by the start of 2027, but it remains unknown.
Porzingis’ return seems less hopeful since no positive updates have come, and he’s not dealing with an injury. The mysterious illness has followed Porzingis during his last season with the Boston Celtics, his half-season with the Atlanta Hawks, and today’s Warriors team.
The win over Denver and this report about Golden State’s mindset sees a path towards success if they can get towards a .500 record by the time Butler returns. Trade rumors involving Anthony Davis and Trey Murphy could also see the team trying to add more talent at the trade deadline.
Warriors Believe Major Locker Room Change Will Improve Team