Week 4 Recap and a Look Ahead

The past week of basketball brought the Chase Center one of it's more exciting games of the year against the league's hottest team, one of the season's best posters, and the Dubs’ record down to a league's worst 2-12.

Despite the last bit of negative reflection in the opening sentence of this weekly recap, the team has shown tremendous improvement since opening night. Seriously, all biases aside, the defensive rotations and offensive flow have allowed the Dubs to be in games-- something that was not a reality early on.

Don't take my word for it, just look at Friday's matchup against the league's hottest team coming in, the Boston Celtics.

In a game that featured the team with the best record in the league and the team with the worst record in the league, the Dubs gave the Celtics all they can handle-- having every opportunity to win, from shooting 64% from the field in the opening six minutes to having a late six-point lead in the fourth. With that said, the injury to D'Angelo Russell left the Dubs without a closer late, and ultimately without a win.

This was the total opposite of Wednesday's game against Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. From start to finish, the Dubs looked flat and lackadaisical, making short runs-- but never coming into real striking distance.

Monday night's matchup against the Utah Jazz was an exciting blowout, something that I never thought I would be saying. Even though there weren't many lead changes and Utah had control from start to finish, there was a feeling that the Warriors were always one run away from making things interesting. The run halfway came, and the lead was cut down to eight. Then an untimely foul or missed (airballed) layup would lead to a four, sometimes five, point switch, and the semi-run would turn back into a 17-point lead. That cycle continued the entire game.

Sunday's game against the Pelicans featured a combined injury list that would have made a championship-contending roster. Think about it: a starting line-up of Lonzo Ball (groin), Steph Curry (hand), Klay Thompson (ACL), Zion Williamson (knee), and Kevon Looney (hamstring); and the next five up having D'Angelo Russell (thumb), Josh Hart (knee), Brandon Ingram (knee), Alen Smailagic (ankle), and Derrick Favors (back).

But none of that mattered Sunday night, as the players-- on both teams-- who were able to suit up had a back and forth affair-- the Pelicans staying in control for much of the game.

In the end, the Dubs were unable to string together stops down the stretch and let the game slip away, concluding their rollercoaster week. A week in which has got a lot of fans wondering if the injury-stricken squad can pull off another win before the end of 2019.

Granted, they've been in most of their games since the injury to Curry back on October 30, but they've shown typical signs of a young team.

Offensive tempo, defensive rotations, opening and ending quarters well, and late-game execution has all been weak points for the Warriors this season. Without their stars Curry, Thompson, and for some games Russell, the Dubs have to pick up the scoring by committee.

While picking up the slack as a unit can lead to surprising plays from Ky Bowman, and monstrous posters from Marquese Chriss, most of the time it leads to untimely scoring droughts that are usually accompanied by lousy defense-- again another sign of a lack of discipline which is common among young teams.

The young guys can turn the corner their next game and find a way to tighten up their overall execution, or they can continue on their current path-- which leads to the question: can the Dubs win another game in 2019?

The answer, I feel, is yes. They've found success in most areas for short-lived minutes throughout a game, yes, but success nonetheless. From Eric Paschall's scoring ability to Ky Bowman's on-ball defense and three-point shooting, there are bright spots. Each game the team has been a string of stops away from taking home a dub, so you have to think they'll figure it out sooner or later.

The reality is that learning to win doesn't come with a set time. Look at the Phoenix Suns. The Devin Booker led team has had years of struggling that seems like it would never come to an end. High draft picks, consistent inconsistency, and high scoring games were the norm for the Suns. Insert Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, and Aaron Banes, and now the Suns are a legit playoff threat.

The Dubs' situation is a bit different; the organization isn't building around this young core-- practically having what could be four of five starters all out with injury. But, the current season is going to be as successful as a handful of rookies and journeymen, all trying to find their way in the league.

Moving forward, the Dubs road trip continues Tuesday in Memphis, as the Warriors take on ROY contender Ja Mourant and the Grizzlies. After Tuesday, the Warriors will go to Dallas to face off against MVP candidate Luka Doncic and then to Utah Friday for another matchup with the Jazz.

Each team on the schedule this week has been playing well; Memphis and Dallas trying to make a playoff push while Utah is trying to solidify their position as a contender. The Dubs will have to figure out a way to contain each team's point guard, or it can be a long week.