The Golden State Warriors have now faced both sides of the spectrum after taking a deflating three-game losing streak into this week after an awful Texas triangle road trip that saw them fall to the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs after a locker room debacle on Monday night. Shooting guard Klay Thompson has played a major part in that struggle, shooting a ghastly 5-of-27 from deep during that stretch and unable to come up big for his team.
“It was a terrible road trip as far as wins and losses,” said Thompson, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. “But we're obviously short-handed. I'm proud of the way the guys fought. Besides the Houston game, I feel like either game could have gone either way; unfortunately, it didn't. It's been a challenging week on all fronts. The best thing for us is just to get away a little bit [Monday], regroup, take it back home and just have fun, play with that joy.”
The Warriors have not only looked pressured and disjointed, but they have clearly lacked the ball movement and joy they're usually characterized for, as the team resorted into an iso-heavy attack at the hands of Kevin Durant and post-up isolations from Thompson.
The result? Three poor shooting games on the road in which they shot a futile 18-of-77 (23.3 percent) from deep.
Golden State has clearly missed the presence of an elite shooter who can space the floor in Stephen Curry, as Thompson and Durant have been getting heavy attention from the defense and proved ineffective getting their teammates involved.
Thompson and the Warriors will have two days to recharge before taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, likely without Curry in the lineup once again, and perhaps also without Draymond Green again.