Things haven’t been going especially well for the Golden State Warriors. They’ve lost seven of their last `10 games and they’ve dropped to ninth in the standings in the Western Conference in the process.
Injury issues have played a major part in Golden State’s slide. Steph Curry hasn’t played since January due to a nagging knee injury, and his return remains nebulous at this time. Star forward Jimmy Butler has also been sidelined since mid-January due to a season-ending knee injury.
Other contributors like Draymond Green, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Seth Curry and De'Anthony Melton have been in-and-out of the lineup, so finding any sort of a consistent rotation has been difficult for head coach Steve Kerr, who perfectly summed up Golden State’s struggles with just four words:
"We're going through it.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
"We're about as beaten up as any team I can ever remember,” Kerr added, via ESPN.
The Philadelphia 76ers would probably disagree with that last bit, but Kerr’s point stands – the Warriors have certainly been snakebitten this season as injuries have prevented them from reaching their full potential as a team.
Given Butler’s absence and the uncertainty surrounding Curry moving forward, it’s hard to imagine the Warriors making any kind of a real run this season.
They’re likely to make the Play-In Tournament, but that might be their ceiling this season, unless Curry is able to return in short order and lead them on an improbable run. That fact certainly isn’t lost on Kerr, though he wouldn’t admit it publicly.
It will be interesting to see how the way this season has gone will impact Kerr’s future in Golden State. Kerr is coaching on the last year of his current contract, and he'll have to decide if he wants to keep going over the offseason.
That's something to keep in mind as the season continues to progress towards the finish line.
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