The Golden State Warriors are in a funk. Having lost eight of their last ten games since a 6-2 start to the season, the Dubs have now dropped to 10th place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference as we near the quarter-pole of the season. Now while there's still plenty of time to turn the season around, there are some troubling signs in the Bay Area that indicate a mid-season turnaround may not be in the cards for a franchise that won an NBA Title just two years ago.

The main issue in Golden State is something that Charles Barkley touched on during a recent episode of TNT's Inside the NBA when he was proclaiming that the Warriors were “cooked.”

“Klay's not the same guy. Draymond's not the same guy. Wiggins have never been that guy.”

In sixteen words, Charles Barkley summed up the issues at the core of the Warriors.  The guys who were supposed to be Golden State's 2nd, 3rd and 4th best players this season have all seen major dips in both productivity and efficiency this year.

Klay Thompson 

2021-22 – 20.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 43-39-90 shooting splits
2022-23 – 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 44-41-88 shooting splits
2023-24 – 15.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 40-36-87 shooting splits

Draymond Green 

2021-22 – 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.4 blocks/steals
2022-23 – 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.8 blocks/steals
2023-24 – 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.3 blocks/steals, mastery of a chokehold

Andrew Wiggins 

2021-22 – 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 47-39-63 shooting splits
2022-23 – 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 47-40-61 shooting splits
2023-24 – 12.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 43-27-59 shooting splits

Notice Charles Barkley didn't mention the name Stephen Curry? That's because Curry, the greatest shooter of all-time and one of the fifteen best basketball players to ever live, continues to age like a fine wine, even as he's in his 15th season in the NBA.

Stephen Curry 

2021-22 – 25.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 44-38-92 shooting splits
2022-23 – 29.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 49-43-92 shooting splits
2023-24 – 29.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 48-44-94 shooting splits

Outside of the Big Three that Warriors fans are familiar with, it's a weird roster comprised of one ball-dominant future Hall of Famer (Chris Paul), dirty work role players (Kevon Looney, Dario Saric,  Gary Payton II), and some intriguing, yet unpolished youngsters (Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski). Paul has played well leading Warriors bench units. Looney, Saric and Payton have all been fine in complementary roles too, and we've gotten to see occasional flashes from Moody, Kuminga and Podziemski. But this team is lacking the consistent firepower they need outside of Stephen Curry. This is the third-oldest roster in the NBA that desperately needs one of their young players to pop or one of their older players to locate the fountain of youth, and I'm not sure that either is all that likely.

But just remember this… once upon a time, we assumed that the Warriors dynasty had crumbled. Kevin Durant departed for Brooklyn and the Warriors missed the playoffs two consecutive seasons. Then, just as they did when they won their first title under Steve Kerr in 2015, the Dubs snuck up on everyone in 2022, winning a title that turned out to be a legacy-defining championship for Stephen Curry.