Down double-digits to the Timberwolves and in danger of losing the sixth game in their last eight contests, the Warriors turned to Steph Curry at the beginning of the fourth quarter Tuesday night.
He was accompanied on the floor by two players who were recently on two-way contracts, a 22-year-old, and a rookie.
Suffice it to say things did not work out for the Dubs, who lost 129-114 in Minneapolis.
The slide continues. The Warriors' back-to-back losses this week can be easily attributed to the fact that the team was without Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. The analysis doesn't have to go much deeper than that. They lacked their defensive anchor, the heartbeat of their team, as well as their No. 2 offensive option.
Should other Warriors players have stepped up into those roles? Absolutely. Yes, even if those shoes are difficult to fill.
Did they? Not really.
And that failure — this stretch of seriously bad ball — highlights a larger point:
These Warriors aren't nearly as deep as they purported themselves to be.
Strength in Numbers was a nice slogan but it's proving a lofty ideal for Golden State in moments where it's truly needed.
I still believe the Warriors are title contenders, though I wouldn't blame anyone for jumping off that bandwagon at this juncture.
As multiple Warriors said in so many different ways over the last few days, this team simply needs to weather the storm.
But the storm simply should not be this strong.
The fact that it is highlights the problem.
Andrew Wiggins was an All-Star this season. He legitimately played like one in the first half.
But he's the team's fifth-leading scorer since Feb. 1, averaging a shocking 13.6 points per game, down five points from before the calendar flipped to the second month of the year. Wiggins is playing like a role player at the very time the Warriors need him to step up — to be the improved player he showed himself to be earlier this season.
If that's what happens now, what can you expect from him in the playoffs should the Warriors find themselves in a jam?
Jordan Poole is 22 years old and deserves a tremendous amount of deference because of that inherent inexperience. That said, the Warriors have put him in a position to be a critical component of a supposed championship-caliber team. That should have told us something long before today.
Regardless, Poole has been a hot mess over the last month, shooting 25 percent from behind the 3-point line and only 41 percent from the floor. It feels unfair to pin the Warriors' hopes on him, but alas, that's what Golden State has been doing as of late. He has not responded. A blip or a young player who has hit his ceiling?
As uncomfortable as it might be, the question has to be asked.
The relentless optimism of Warriors fans is a true blessing, but Poole wouldn't be the first young player who was expected by this fanbase — and the organization itself — to keep growing and growing, but ultimately max out within a few years.
Now, I do think Poole is a solid NBA player with plenty of potential remaining, but his slump comes at the worst time. He hasn't posted a 20-point game since Feb. 1, despite having a rather consistent role on the team.
For those wondering why Warriors coach Steve Kerr doesn't seem to trust Poole, why the Dubs were interested in Goran Dragic on the buyout market to be the team's backup point guard — this recent stretch is why.
It's also clear the Warriors have been relying on Jonathan Kuminga too much as of late, as well. He's 19 years old. This team has to be better than to rely on that.
The lack of depth at center is no doubt an issue as well. Kevon Looney has been great for this team, but Looney's backups have provided less-than-zero resistance to opposing big men, amid this, the NBA's big-man renaissance. If the Warriors are playing a team with a top — or even middling — center these days, they're likely to lose. The last time they beat a quality big was Feb. 12, when Golden State beat Anthony Davis and the sorry Lakers by two.
Save for Moses Moody and Kevon Looney, the rest of the team is literally on minimum contracts. How can they be relied upon in a moment like this?
The Warriors are proving to be a top-heavy team amid crisis.
Thompson has to come back and the Splash Brothers need to make the Warriors' offensive viable once again. Perhaps once the pressure is released, players like Wiggins and Poole will start playing better.
And Green is desperately needed on defense. Not just as the one-man fascia on that end of the court, but as another large, center-defending body as well. The Warriors are to the point where they're looking forward to James Wiseman returning — he's 7 feet tall and gets six fouls a game, after all.
There's a front-running aspect to this team. In retrospect, it should have been expected given the personnel. And in the Dubs' great, energized start, we were fooled into believing these players were more reliable than they actually are. Everyone played well together, and now so many players are slumping together.
Indeed, this team is greater than the sum of its parts, because some of these parts are proving to be overrated amid a larger sample size.
Now, things will rebound for this team because its top players — their Big 3 — will be back in due time.
And that's the number where the Warriors' strength actually lies.
