Following a lopsided loss against the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors hosted Terry Rozier and the Hornets Saturday night in front of a full house at the Chase Center. The game featured a competitive Warriors squad who would eventually falter in the waning moments of a 93-87 loss. Head Coach Steve Kerr is coaching in what feels like a twilight zone, with five key rotation players out-- including two time MVP Stephen Curry and former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green.

Curry recently had surgery in Los Angeles after breaking his hand Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns. Green tore a ligament in his left index finger Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs, while D'Angelo Russell sprained his ankle in that same game. Russell and Green's statuses for the upcoming games are up in the air, while Curry will be sidelined for three months at the very least.

This left Saturday night's game to feature a starting five without a single player that owned a full roster spot last season. Again, for Kerr, this week-- season actually-- has felt like a throwaway episode of the Twilight Zone.

Despite that, the nine Warriors that were able to suit up Saturday night gave the Chase Center its most competitive game of the young season-- with three Warriors scoring in double digits.

Bad defense and ill-advised turnovers have marked the season. Saturday night was much different. Kerr stuck with his defensive schemes from previous games, switching from man and zone throughout the first half, but the Warriors backcourt came out pesty and held the Hornets to 9% shooting from beyond the arc.

To add that, the young Dubs also finished the quarter on a 10-2 run, holding a five-point lead after the first 12 minutes. The mark of a good team is starting and finishing quarters well. That lies in execution. And that was the Dubs issue in their nip and tuck game Saturday night.

In the last thirty seconds of the half, the Warriors failed to get a shot up, turning the ball over three consecutive times and giving up an and-1 layup. Both teams shot just about 50% from the field, but it was the Charlotte Hornets whose late quarter push gave them the momentum they needed going into the half.

The third quarter belonged to Erick Paschall, whose play mirrored vintage playoff Draymond Green-- creating matchup issues all over the court. But Paschall's heroics did not outweigh the Warriors' unforced turnovers and lack of execution late in the quarter. In the last two minutes, the Warriors gave up four straight turnovers while allowing the Hornets to live on the free-throw line. With that said, the young Dubs found themselves up three going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was back and forth until the Hornets went on a quick run midway through the quarter to take a five-point lead.

Damien Lee's three-pointer with 1:55 left knotted the game at 86. After that, Paschall added a free-throw to put the Warriors up one.

And then the youth and inexperience factored into the game. After giving up an 11-foot jump shot to Rozier, Steve Kerr called a timeout and designed a play for side out with 24 seconds left. The play wasn't able to break down or even develop because the inbounder couldn't get the ball in-- something that hasn't been a problem for the Dubs since before the Steve Kerr-era.

Charlotte took a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, obviously, the Warriors had to foul, hope for a miss, and in the event of a miss grab the rebound. When the Hornets inbounded the ball, the Dubs came out in a full-court press, nearly forcing an eight-second backcourt violation. Once Charlotte got the ball across half court, Damion Lee took the intentional foul on Rozier.

The Dubs seemed to have caught a break, as Rozier missed not one, but both free throws. But the Warriors did not grab the rebound; instead, Charlotte's Cody Martin came down with it and was sent to the free-throw line.

The Dubs caught what looked like a break again, but didn't get the board again, and from there it was game set match.

When it was announced that Curry would be sidelined for three months, this season became about developing the young guys on the team rather than making a playoff run. A game like Saturday night's is one that Kerr will use as a teaching tool moving forward, mainly to stress discipline and execution.

On a positive note, the group showed a defensive tenacity that has been missing for most of the season, even when Curry, Green, and Russell were on the floor. Two-way player Ky Bowman and Damion Lee brought a level of defensive grit that has been missing this season. Along with that, this team may not be without All-Star guard D'Angelo Russell for too long, which would give them the closer they desperately needed Saturday night.

Moving forward, the Dubs will have to build on the defensive grit they showed Saturday night and develop the offensive discipline needed to finish close games.

The Warriors host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday. The two teams split their four-game series last season, although Golden State has won nine of the previous 13 overall.