The Golden State Warriors lost their 10th consecutive road game on Friday night, falling to the Atlanta Hawks 127-119. The defending champions are now 7-28 away from home in 2022-23, by far the worst road record in basketball among teams vying for the playoffs.
It's not like the Warriors will have the luxury of playing from the friendly confines of Chase Center much in the postseason, either. They're sixth in the Western Conference standings following Friday's loss, a half game up on the seventh-place Dallas Mavericks and just two games ahead of the Utah Jazz in 11th. Golden State seems bound to at least get a spot in the play-in tournament, a path that would require this team to win one road game every subsequent playoff series en route to a potential and remarkable fifth championship in the last nine years.
Needless to say, the Warriors don't exactly seem equipped to handle that gauntlet before accomplishing their ultimate goal of repeating as champs. Steve Kerr, though, expressed measured optimism about Golden State's trajectory on the postgame podium despite its ongoing inability to win outside San Francisco.
“Proud of our guys' effort. We had our chances. We had several shots in the last couple minutes to take the lead and just couldn't get anything to go,” he said. “But love the effort, love the energy. These guys are fighting. I believe in them. I believe something good is gonna happen with this group, we just gotta keep fighting and keep moving forward.”
The Warriors played without Draymond Green in Atlanta, serving a one-game suspension for picking up his 16th technical foul. Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II remain sidelined with no concrete timelines to return, and Andre Iguodala's broken wrist has likely ended his playing career.
But even Green's presence wouldn't have necessarily made the difference between winning and losing on Friday. After all, the Warriors own the league's third-worst defense on the road, per Cleaning the Glass, and Green has missed just four games outside Chase Center all season long. Even accounting for lacking personnel, Golden State's performance against the Hawks was simply more of the same.
The Dubs don't have time to dwell on yet another disappointing road outcome, either. They're back in action on Saturday against the rival Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum, still searching for the “good” away from home Kerr believes is bound to come soon.
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