Warriors being slapped by cold hand of reality at home

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Warriors being slapped by cold hand of reality at home originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Couldn’t shoot, couldn’t defend, too often treated the ball as if it were worthless. For 16 minutes in the heart of the game Friday night, the Warriors were at their messiest against the one team they’d never beaten at Chase Center.

And still haven’t.

They once again bowed to the Indiana Pacers, who extended their perfect record (5-0) in Golden State’s home building by seizing the game late in the first half and never giving it back, pinning a 123-111 loss on the Warriors that leaves their postseason hopes at cliff’s edge.

“Ain’t nobody going to feel sorry for us,” Chris Paul said.

A deep NBA playoff run by the Warriors appears ever more farcical.

The No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, still coveted, is fading from out of view.

Even a successful NBA play-in tournament, which they’ve never wanted but now would accept, seems a stretch for these Warriors, who would be “on the bubble” if there were a selection committee.

After a February revival that inspired such belief in themselves and faith among the fan base, March has brought the backhand of reality. Golden State is 5-6 this month, has lost five of its last eight games and will depart Saturday for a five-game road trip having posted consecutive 1-2 homestands.

“Before you go on a long road trip, [you have] the opportunity to protect your home court,” Stephen Curry said. “We talked about that so many times. We didn’t do it.”

The stumbles at home might be the hardest part to swallow. This season crested on the road last month and collapsed this month on their home floor. The Warriors are 2-4 at Chase this month – with three of the losses to teams either below .500 or severely compromised by injury.

“We’re a better team on the road this year, for whatever reason,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I don’t think it matters where we play. We haven’t been able to control our home court, so maybe we’ll go out on the road and find some momentum.”

That’s a glass half-full approach, to be sure, and one that befits the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/warriors-being-slapped-cold-hand-064210043.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-03-23 06:42:10

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