This question has been swirling around the Warriors organization and Sports media for the better half of 6 months...or since they started the season 24-0. Since the team started the season 24-0 something has changed.
Something is very apparent, the team just doesn't play as hard as they did under Coach Walton. It could be equated to a number of reasons, Steve Kerr's laid back style, the teams lack of focus, anticipation for the playoffs,... what ever the reason is this team is not the same mentally
Opening the season the Warriors had something to prove, their championship was not a fluke nor was it luck, "they were simply the best team". Feeding off the negative comments from the Clippers and other teams and players around the league the Warriors entered the season with a rage. The comments made by Hall of Fame Coach, Doc Rivers, ignited the frustration on the Warriors behalf. "You need luck in the West," was the center of it all.
Today we see a team unbothered as the disrespect has slowed and the compliments continued to rain until last Friday. Last Friday the Warriors received their eighth loss of the season to the Boston Celtics. This was the Warriors first loss at home since the end of last season which raised a lot of eyebrows. Yes, no team is invincible but the way they loss was concerning. Their nonchalant body language following the loss was the most concerning.
Then came Tuesday. The Warriors during the fourth quarter against the Timberwolves defined "choke" in their way, in a way they only knew how. The team had a 17 point lead mid way through the 3 rd quarter but entered the fourth quarter with an emotional boost from their leader. Draymond Green screaming in the huttle to all of his teammates ,"Alright its time to put them away we have let them stick around ", but this message has little to no impact. The Warriors were outscored by 8 in the fourth quarter which led to overtime... and we know the rest.
Typically when it's one week left in the regular season playoff teams begin to rest players. We've seen it with the Spurs, Cavs and all of the top contending teams in the playoffs. Who we haven't seen this from is the Warriors and it for obvious reasons regardless if they want to admit it or not. Chasing the Bulls 95-96 record and an opportunity to leave your mark in history is appealing to everyone...but... maybe Greg Popovich. Besides that, this team continues to express their desire for the post season which could mean multiple things. The first, they are tired of the regular season and are ready to get to more meaningful games. Or they are burning themselves out and they know they practically have another 1/4 of a season left if they were to advance all the way to the finals. In other words, their either excited or their thinking "when is it over, when can I get my second ring?"
The only point I'm making here is... This team has to get back to the team that had a bitter taste in their mouth following the disrespectful comments regarding their 2014-2015 championship run. That's the team who was focused and won 24 straight games and that's the team that can win another championship. The team that played Tuesday night will likely be ousted by the second round if something doesn't change. That might mean resting players the final four games of the regular season to mentally clear minds and body's and to get away from it all. Whatever it is it needs to be done quick fast and in a hurry because the playoffs begin next weekend.
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