Steve Kerr and Mike Dunleavy Jr. talked all offseason about the Golden State Warriors needing to find the “connectivity” they so sorely lacked during a doomed 2022-23 title defense. Over two months into the regular season, the Dubs are clearly still searching for that sense of on-court cohesion, a reality Kerr flatly acknowledged on Saturday night after his team's 132-122 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks, its third straight loss.

“Well I think first of all, I love the guys on this team, we have a really good group. I think they have a good chemistry, they get along well,” he told reporters. “But we haven't found that grit that every team needs, that every good team needs. Where you pull together and you just play for the group. We’re not there yet and that’s a problem. Like I said we got great guys, love everyone, but until this team really connects in a way that is solely dedicated to winning each and every game then we’re going to be stuck in this place. So we need to get there.”

Warriors' ‘Strength in Numbers' has become a problem

Steve Kerr called out the Warriors after their fifth straight loss

Among the most uncomfortable realities for Golden State so far in 2023-24 is its double-edged sword of quality depth. Summer additions Chris Paul, Dario Saric, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis have all made a tangible impact, fortifying one of the team's biggest weaknesses after the likes of JaMychal Green, Ty Jerome and Anthony Lamb earned regular rotation minutes last season.

The Warriors' much-improved bench has loomed especially large amid a series of sudden absences to key incumbent contributors, too. Draymond Green had already been ejected from three games and banned from five more before starting his indefinite suspension on December 14th. Gary Payton II only just returned from a month-long injury absence against Dallas, while Andrew Wiggins has missed four games due to injury and illness.

Golden State is full-strength now save Green's ongoing absence, a development you'd think would go a long way toward the team finding that elusive “connectivity” and winning “grit.” But the Dubs' lineup and rotational numbers crunch only gets tougher with a nearly full roster available, as evidenced by Kerr changing the starting five once again on Saturday and pushing Moses Moody—who'd just provided a major lift off the bench in Thursday's loss to the Miami Heat—to a DNP-CD with Payton back in the fold.

The Warriors won their first title of the dynasty nearly a decade ago behind “Strength in Numbers.” This season—with Klay Thompson, Wiggins and Kevon Looney a long way from their 2022 peaks, Paul more limited than ever and the growth of Jonathan Kuminga and Moody met with as many starts as stops—that rallying cry has prevented Golden State from becoming the whole greater than the sum of its parts needed to win at the highest level.

Will Green's return, likely at some point in early January, provide the clarity Kerr and his coaching staff need to finally settle on an ingrained starting lineup and nightly rotation? Maybe. But tough decisions and difficult conversations will need to be had regardless, potentially pulling the Warriors further away from developing the collective grit that's been elusive since 2023-24 tipped off.