The second half of the 2015-16 NBA season started with a resounding thud for the Golden State Warriors, as they took one on the chin in a 137-105 road loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. Let's assess what we saw from a frustrating, embarassing defeat in the Pacific Northwest.
Playing Down To The Competition?
It feels disingenous to nitpick a team which heads into Saturday sporting an NBA-best 48-5 record, but there is a connecting thread to be analyzed when it comes to the team's five losses this year. Golden State's defeats have come at the hands of Detroit, Dallas, Denver, Milwaukee and Portland.
That's not necessarily a murderer's row of NBA excellence. In fact, those five teams head into Saturday a combined 19 games under .500. So, what can we draw from this? Well, the Warriors tend to show up to the big dances but sometimes get caught falling asleep in games with less "marquee billing" to them. The Blazers would be a playoff team if the season ended today, but they're a firm middle-tier team who Golden State should be handily nine times out of ten -- similar to all of the other team on their list of losses.
The Defense Still Needs Tweaking
Golden State's offensive fireworks have papered over a defense which sits in the bottom third of the NBA in points allowed per game (103.6, 21st). Now, it's common for a team who pushes the pace at such a breakneck speed to give up some points when transition offense breaks down.
However, it's still a warning sign that Golden State has given up 100 or more points in five straight games, and eight of ten overall. Damian Lillard's 51-point outburst on Friday is a reminder of just how vulnerable this Warriors team can be when another team trades them jumper for jumper, and slash for slash.
Time To Breathe
Let's not board the freak-out train just yet. The Warriors are still on pace to beat the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' top regular-season mark of 72-10. They're still the team who has made the best of the NBA look like JV teams on a night-in, night-out basis.
Yes, the defense needs work. Yes, the team has let too many mediocre/bad teams hang around in frustrating fashion. But, the Warriors are still 48-5 and pacing the league in almost every offensive metric worth measuring. Relax. Breathe in, breathe out, lock in.
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