The Golden State Warriors suffered their worst loss of a disappointing season on Wednesday, falling 141-105 to the surging New Orleans Pelicans. They faced boos from the Chase Center crowd for the second straight game, too, after the Dubs were “punched in the mouth” by the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in another double-digit defeat.
Golden State finished its crucial seven-game homestand 2-5, moving to 17-20 overall. Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere in the home locker room didn't exactly spark much optimism about the Dubs' ability to turn it around going forward.
“Pretty deflating mood, but that's expected when you get blown out twice in a row at home,” Klay Thompson said of the Warriors' mindset on the postgame podium. “We have to be better I think defensively. They shot really high percentages from the field and three. That's not our identity—just relenting on defense, that is. I think when we go to Chicago on Friday we really just gotta establish that again, just being gritty on the defensive end.”
Kevin Looney agreed with his longtime teammate.
“We're kinda down on ourselves, we're upset,” he said. “We wanna play better, especially after last game, you don't wanna come out and have another stinker like tonight. It was rough. We'll go watch film, think about this one and try to get better moving forward.”
Warriors lacking ‘confidence,' ‘belief' amid tumultuous season
Golden State trailed by double-digits less than three minutes into Wednesday's action despite starting a different lineup for the third straight game. The Pelicans' lead was cut to 11 midway through the third quarter after Steve Kerr replaced Brandin Podziemski with Moses Moody coming out of halftime, but the Warriors' deficit quickly ballooned to 18.
By the time Kerr called timeout to stem the bleeding with 3:06 left in the third, it was time for Stephen Curry's scheduled rest. Who came out of that timeout for Golden State? Cory Joseph, Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, Dario Saric and Trayce Jackson-Davis, a seldom-used lineup that failed to stem the tide.
Curry and Thompson remained on the bench to start the final stanza, their team falling behind by a whopping 30 points barely more than two minutes into the fourth quarter. The game was effectively over at that point, Kerr waving the white flag by affording Gui Santos early garbage-time run.
Before Thompson and Looney described the scene in the postgame locker room, Kerr explained what's ailing his reeling team.
“I think we're just lacking confidence right now. You just sort of get to a stage sometimes where you just kinda lose your belief, and it happens,” he said. “That's what's happening right now with our team the last few days. I think we've just lost the spirit, the confidence that has to carry you against talented teams night in and night out.”
The Warriors' next chance to find it comes on Friday against the Chicago Bulls, the start of a four-game road trip that will no doubt go a long way toward informing the front office's approach at the trade deadline—especially if Draymond Green's imminent return fails to provide Golden State the jolt it needs to get back on track.
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