The Warriors last week didn’t always play smart basketball, but they displayed the effort of a team determined to accomplish its first goal of avoiding a collapse during the absence of Stephen Curry to better support its second goal of generating momentum toward the postseason once he returns.
Goal No. 1 was kicked in the shins Monday and Tuesday with losses to NBA bottom-feeders Utah and Chicago.
Goal No. 2 was punched in the face Wednesday, when the Warriors announced that Curry will remain out indefinitely.
There will be calls to shut Curry down, which he surely would resist. He lacks the surrender gene. He wants to play with Kristaps Porzingis this season to have an idea of how next season might look. Curry also wants to play alongside his brother, Seth. Moreover, Steph relishes the chance to see if he can rescue a ship three-fourths underwater.
It’s delusional to think he can do it, but nothing delights Curry more than actualizing the delusional. He has done it before.
Golden State’s season has been ailing since Jan 19, when Jimmy Butler III sustained a season-ending torn ACL, and took a turn for the worse 11 days later, when Curry limped into the locker room and was diagnosed with “runner’s knee.”
And now, in the span of a few days, following an encouraging split in Houston and Oklahoma City by being splattered by the Jazz and Bulls, this season has lapsed into a coma.
Losing back-to-back games to Utah and Chicago – two franchises rebuilding for the umpteenth consecutive year – doesn’t wrap this Warriors’ season but it surely puts the end close enough to smell its bitterness.
“Both very winnable games,” coach Steve Kerr conceded Monday night. “We had the lead late tonight and obviously it’s one we should have had.”
What, then, is the goal now?
The Warriors are ninth in the Western Conference. Losing to the Bulls dropped them under .500 for the first time since Dec. 20. Their goals have dropped, almost month after month, from finishing among the top four teams in the West, then to the top six, and now to the top eight.
The goal now is to rise to eighth place. Because it feels within reach. Because it would spare them the labor of having to play twice before a potential playoff opener. To get to eighth place would suggest they’ve achieved a modicum of recuperation.
“It’s a big deal,” Kerr said of prioritizing a move from ninth to eighth in the standings. “Yeah, a big deal. There’s a reason why we did that. At 7/8, you get two cracks at it. A huge advantage. It’s definitely a focus.”
This concession to mediocrity is simultaneously honest and sobering. But that’s the reality when losing your two most valuable players – and losing so many winnable games, at least five before the All-Star break and at least three since.
“We’re at the point in the season where we’re fighting just to stay alive right now,” Pat Spencer said. “The goal is to get into that (No. 7 vs. No. 8) game. I don’t think we’re going to put too much stress on each individual game, but we know how important every game is now.
“Hopefully, we get No. 30 healthy. But ultimately, these are the games that we need to win if we want to put ourselves in position to go after a playoff run.”
And Curry, perhaps in the lineup for the final eight or 10 games, is supposed to wave his magic wand to lead this defective team to a miraculous recovery?
A playoff run for the Warriors now feels almost incidental relative to other matters. As this season slides, the offseason comes into greater focus. They’ll face numerous decisions regarding their roster, their coaching staff and their finances, all of which will impact where they stand entering 2026 training camp.
And, yes, trying to generate optimism for next season is more important than trying to squeeze success in the face of so many setbacks this season.
High on the list of items for the franchise to evaluate is the Curry-Porzingis dynamic. It’s something both are eager to measure, but they’ve yet to play together. If both are healthy for a string of games, the players and the Warriors would have some idea. If not, they can only guess.
Porzingis, who will be an unrestricted free agent, understands the value.
“Of course, of course, I want to play with Steph, you know?” he said in the locker room Monday night. “Who doesn’t, you know? So, let’s see. Honestly, I don’t have no idea what they’re (going to say about Curry’s status), but I know he’s doing everything he can to be back with us as soon as possible. And obviously, it’s a completely different team with him here. So hopefully I’ll get that chance soon.”
It won’t be soon, KP. Too optimistic. Ever since Jan. 19, this season has been about trying to stay upright while taking blows to its aspirations.