THE SHOT CLOCK is winding down in the final minute of the third quarter in an early November tilt between the world champion Golden State Warriors and the perpetually moribund Orlando Magic. The Magic are in the midst of a 13-6 run as Wendell Carter Jr. brings the ball up the court and passes it to backup forward Chuma Okeke on the right wing.
What happens in the next six seconds is a personification of the 2022-23 Warriors -- a team struggling to find its footing after its magical title run a year ago -- and lost altogether in its longstanding self-diagnosed identity: its impenetrable defense.