Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
At 9:08 in the third quarter, Stephen Curry saw daylight, and the Warriors saw a path toward victory.
A pick-and-roll switched Deandre Ayton onto the best shooter in NBA history, who jabbed in then bounced back out. Ayton couldn’t come close to contesting the stepback, which swished through to bring Golden State within three, 58-55.
The ensuing nine minutes saw the deficit balloon to 14 points. Curry sat to start the fourth, and at 7:06 of the last period, it was up to 19.
The Warriors are a growing team that still has not had nearly enough time with one another. Yet, it’s an excuse that gets less acceptable each game as consistency can’t be found. They find something that works that builds momentum, playing well in consecutive wins over the Timberwolves this week. And then, abruptly, they resemble a team that did not go to the bubble and has all sorts of chemistry issues.
“When the games are in the margins for us this year, the common theme is certain three-to-four minute windows, we don’t play with the right intentions,” Curry said, choosing his words carefully, after the Warriors’ 114-93 loss in Phoenix on Thursday night. “… And when that happens, certain teams who can shoot the ball across the board … can blow a game open. And we lose any type of momentum.”
That’s what happened late in the third and the fourth, when both the first and second units were outplayed against a Suns team that did not have Devin Booker.
In the game-changing stretch, Curry’s shooting kept the Warriors at least within range, until he was benched to start the fourth — a rest that eventually might need to be sacrificed as the Warriors need wins. When he wasn’t on the floor to start the last period, Kelly Oubre Jr. was, and he actually hit his own basket. But he finished 1-of-11 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3, which has to further Golden State’s frustrations.
Oubre has not been able to sustain a hot streak in the same way the Warriors have failed to sustain momentum. The team, now 10-9, has not won or lost three straight this season. Several Warriors referred to the campaign thus far as a roller-coaster, yet a roller-coaster with these highs and lows would not be very exciting.
As James Wiseman shows he has potential but is a teenager, and as Oubre’s shot refuses to come around, and as Draymond Green (1-of-7, two points) is somehow less aggressive on offense than ever, the question will always come to back to Curry not being involved enough. Going 10-of-20 from the field and 5-of-10 from deep with 27 points is a solid line for anyone else, but for Curry, it might hint he needs to be a greater focal point.
Curry said he and the team have to stay patient, especially with the young guys on the squad, and trust that they will come around.
“It was a good lesson for us guys that finished the third quarter and the group that started the fourth: Find a guy that’s hot,” Curry said over Zoom. “You can kind of kind of force the issue in that respect. If you got a good matchup, slow things down, keep yourself in the game. And we talked about in the locker room after the game and everybody knows it; nobody’s getting hurt feelings or feeling singled out.”
Curry did not single anyone out, nor did Steve Kerr. They are trying to turn it around as a team.
“I think right now we just can’t really trust anything that we’re doing consistently,” said Kerr, whose Warriors return home to host the Pistons on Saturday. “We can do things well periodically. We just haven’t put it together. And that’s why we’re bouncing up and down from one night to the next.”