The Golden State Warriors started the 2021-22 NBA season dominating anyone standing in their path. In the first portion of the season, Steve Kerr's squad had the best offense and defense in the NBA. Since then, a lot has changed, and not for the best. The Warriors led the NBA in defensive rating, but in the last 10 games, they rank 19th.

“That's what made us really good right away this season,” Kerr told ClutchPoints. “We established our defense the first 10 games of the year and the continuity of what we had with Steph and Draymond. We shot out of the gates and were able to win a lot of games because of our defense. We have to return to that. Not only to finish strong but to get ready for the playoffs. You can't win in the playoffs without a strong defense. So that's the focus, especially with Steph being out. We have to really lean into that even more.”

Some of the Warriors' defensive struggles have been because of personnel. This season the Dubs have been hammered by injuries. Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala are all key defenders who have missed a substantial amount of games from injuries.

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All but Iguodala are back on the court, but they still haven't figured out how to get back to playing the type of defense they have early on.

*Enter the Warriors’ Multiverse*

Now with Stephen Curry (foot) out, things will get a little tougher. He's having the best season of his career defensively, and his offense is something that helps the Dubs' defense also. The two-time MVP will be out of service for at least two weeks. So the Warriors will have to figure things out without him, especially if they want to win in the postseason.