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The Golden State Warriors entered the All Star break with exactly as many losses as wins in the current 2022-3 season. The question now is whether they have set the pattern for the rest of the year, or whether they come back from break with their season at 0-0.
Injuries to Steph Curry and now to their latest re-acquisition, Gary Payton, Jr., mean their team isn't whole for at least several weeks. That the Warriors decided to go through with the trade once they knew that Payton's injury was covered up by Portland and he might miss a significant part of this season, suggests they've given up a little on this year. They did not improve through trades, as did the Suns, Mavericks, Lakers and probably others in the West. They might still score a free agent in the buyout market and improve that way.
In retrospect, the Warrior brass made a mistake in letting Payton go, and now that he's won the dunk contest in spectacular fashion, perhaps in letting Mac McClung go as well. There may be questions ahead on why the team couldn't utilize James Wiseman's talents, as they become evident in Detroit.
But all that could be water under the bridge if the Dubs come out of the break as the team that the organization thought it had, the one with championship skills and championship DNA. If the angst and injuries of the season so far add up to lessons learned and skills mastered (and Steph always comes out with renewed energy after injury) then they will be forgotten. On the other hand, if Draymond and others are right, that their current mediocrity (a word that more than one sports writer has used recently) is partly psychological rather than due to lack of physical and mental skills (especially on defense), the repeated experience of getting beaten in the fourth quarter can be wounding and therefore a self-fulfilling prophesy, a pattern to be repeated. Other teams now believe the Dubs can be beaten, even if they fall behind. The question is, do the Dubs believe they can win?
