Mysterious Warriors and NFL Clarity

 As December begins, mystery surrounds the Golden State Warriors.  They started the season with a spectacular 12-3 record, and quickly got into the next round of the play-in tournament. Coach Kerr was deploying a 12 and even 13 man rotation, throwing fresh bodies quick on defense and fast on offence to overwhelm opponents.  A revived Andrew Wiggins was one surprise, as well as the barrage of 3 pointers from Buddy Hield that suggested he might be a "Splash Buddy" to Steph Curry.  Lindy Waters III was another surprise at both ends, essentially forcing Kerr to expand the rotation to play him.  Draymond Greene was a wizard on defense again, and he found his timely 3 point shots.  Steph was Steph, though more quietly.

 Now they've lost four games in a row, including two in which they were more than 15 points ahead in the fourth quarter.  What happened?  The inevitable injuries, even minor ones throwing off rhythms, including a couple to Steph.  But the one that seems so far to have hurt most was the season-ending injury to De Anthony Melton.  He was a steady offensive presence and important on defense.  How important is suggested by those four losses--all the games he's been out so far.  

Other possible factors: Buddy Hield cooled off and other young players weren't scoring as much, important perhaps in two close losses to western foes OKC and Phoenix.  At Phoenix Kerr tried tightening the rotation and playing his starters longer, but a valiant comeback effort in the second half fell short. 

Is it back to the drawing board or just a glitch of focus in a frenetic early season?  Are the Warriors as good as they'd convinced everyone they are, or was that just early energy?  Stay tuned.

In the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers seem to be falling apart.  Thrown off their rhythm by major injuries, they've lost their mojo.  In what was to be their best chance at a championship season, they may not even make the playoffs.

Meanwhile, my other team the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a phantom of a past I remember well--losing in a Cleveland snowstorm--to outlast the Bengals, while the Ravens lost to Philadelphia.  So the Steelers seem likely to go to the playoffs as AFC North champs, though the Ravens can never be completely counted out.  Kansas City has clinched the playoffs, but their stellar record in mostly very close games seems to have depended more on luck than dominance.  So the Steelers may be legitimate challengers to them this year.  The Philadelphia Eagles now seem the clear favorite to be the NFC entry in the Super Bowl.