SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors have been a difficult team to understand this season for fans, media and even the players themselves.
The Jekyll-Hyde theme of the 2023-24 season continued Friday night as the Indiana Pacers rolled into town and left as the only undefeated NBA team at Chase Center with a 123-111 win.
The uphill battle to improve their standing in the Western Conference quickly became even more difficult with the playoffs starting in less than a month.
And everyone is wondering how to fix it.
Coach Steve Kerr said the Pacers had a physical advantage and outplayed the Warriors. With so little time left in the regular season, that should be a serious concern.
Despite this, Kerr said he is confident in the team's future prospects.
“There's nothing that needs to be readjusted,” Kerr said. “We know who our team is, so we just have to keep doing it. We just have to keep trying.”
It was a frustrating night from beginning to end for the Warriors, who have been up and down for most of the 2023-24 season.
What's even more frustrating is that Golden State still seems to be looking for answers.
The answer to an offense that was inconsistent and frequently malfunctioned against the Pacers. An answer to a defense that has allowed too many open looks from the perimeter and easy drives into the lane. An answer to a team that at times looked like it was ready to make the playoffs and at other times played like a team that wasn't even fit for the play-in portion of the postseason.
Simply put, there are too many questions and not enough answers.
“We're still thinking about it,” Chris Paul said. “It's been a season with a lot of ups and downs. It's going to be a great game where everything goes well, defense and shooting. And there will be games like tonight.
“For us, we had to figure out how to play the right way. We have to compete, we have to win. Now every game, we're fighting for a chance to make the playoffs. There you are. You have a chance. That's what you want.”
Most of the Golden State crowd was quick to praise the Pacers' play.
But the Warriors hurt themselves time and time again with self-inflicted mistakes and, at times, a lack of focus on the “little things.”
“We're always talking about ourselves in the corner,” Stephen Curry said. “You can just run around and run like crazy, but if you don't actually execute and execute the details, you can put effort in, especially on defense, but you can't focus mentally. Considering our effort tonight. ,That's too bad.
“It's definitely tough. There are a lot of games left and right from the ship. It's just a matter of being able to do it.”
Like his teammates, Curry doesn't have an answer as to what's causing the Warriors' inconsistency.
“I wish I had known, so I could get ahead of myself,” Curry said. “It's not very good to be in this position, especially when every game is important and every game is important. There has to be a sense of urgency about how we finish this last game. I wish I had known.”
Curry, like Kerr, is confident the Dubs can salvage the remainder of the season.
“The challenge for this team is figuring out how we run our offense and how we create shots. Everyone is aggressive and ready,” Curry said. “Even when it's clicking, it's still a powerful attack. You just have to [have] There is a strong chemistry between everyone. Even when it doesn't, tonight it seems like it did. ”
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