DNHQ After Dark: Come on home please Warriors
Dub Nation has been subjected to some disheartening basketball recently from Golden State; it's time to turn it around.
Sometimes after a long day of not doing great out there in the work world or in school or wherever it is, it feels great to come home. Kick your shoes off in the usual spot. Run a hot bath. Get cozy. Water your plants. Get some food hitting on the stove, like a little home cooked meal.
That’s what the Warriors need right now.
Because here’s the question: as a dedicated observer, what do you do when someone you’re watching just doesn’t have it and disappoints you? Like when the cashier at McDonald’s drops your fries out of the bag onto the ground? Or when your kid is up at the school recital, fumbling through the notes in herky-jerk fashion, and you hear a couple well-meaning but still stinging chuckles a couple rows back? You turn around to see who it is. So many faces. Could be anyone. You just resign yourself to the moment.
And then there’s the Dubs, getting waxed on the road and falling back to earth after a hot start. Haven’t we seen this in recent years? Warriors start up hot in October and then suddenly, boom, they hit a bizarre spell of mishaps, injuries, and poor fortune.
Last season:
Started 5-1 through October 30
Hit a rough patch with losses at Houston (OT, 127-121) and Cleveland (blowout, 136-117)
Bounced back with a strong stretch, winning 6 of 7 from Nov 10-22
Finished the 19-game stretch losing 3 of their last 4 (SAS, BRK, OKC)
Two seasons ago:
Lost the season opener at home to Phoenix 108-104
Started 4-1 through November 3rd with that impressive OT win in OKC (141-139)
Then hit a brutal stretch: lost 6 of 7 games from November 5-18, including those back-to-back home losses to Cleveland and the three-game home losing streak (CLE twice, MIN twice, OKC)
And now the Dubs are 5-5, losing two in a row.
The box score from Denver tells you everything you need to know. Draymond Green scored 17 points on five threes, but his defensive anchor couldn’t hold against Nikola Jokic’s 26-point, 9-rebound, 9-assist masterclass. Jimmy Butler added 16, but the young trio that exploded for 66 combined points against Sacramento went ice cold. Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and Moses Moody combined for just 15 points on 7-for-29 shooting.
This wasn’t a one-off. The Warriors lost to a Giannis-less Milwaukee team. They lost to an injury-riddled Pacers squad in Indiana, 114-109, where Quenton Jackson torched them for 12 fourth-quarter points. They’re 1-5 on the road. They haven’t won in Denver since March 10, 2022.
Maybe this is what they need. Time to get right, get home. Maybe get a little angry. Maybe get a little annoyed. Because right now, everyone’s worried about their season looking like a team whose stars are too old to last, and whose young guys are too scattered to make up the difference. Maybe this pressure is exactly what brings some cohesion, some glue. Maybe it’s time to kick into gear.
And what do you know? The Warriors are coming home to Chase to play the team that gave them a loss in Indiana a week ago. Yeah. It’s time to get some payback. Let’s take these Pacers to deepwater out here in the Bay. Let’s show them why making the Finals one time is cute, but in order to build a dynasty, you’ve actually gotta win it when you get there. Apologies to Mr. Haliburton’s Achilles.
The Pacers come to Chase Center at 1-7, ravaged by injuries. Tyrese Haliburton’s season-ending Achilles tear in the Finals has gutted their offensive engine. Their only win this season? Against the Warriors. And they’ll want another.
This is the moment. The Warriors need to come home, kick their shoes off, and remember who they are. Chase Center will be rocking. The schedule only gets harder from here, with a six-game road trip starting Tuesday in Oklahoma City against the defending champs. The Warriors will get a chance to show Indiana what dynasty looks like.
Time to get right. Time to show them why the Warriors are a dynasty.