Warriors Struggle in Loss to Lakers
SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors seem to be facing a tough reality regarding their chances of avoiding an early exit in the play-in tournament. This becomes particularly evident as they didn’t perform well against a team they needed to surpass for at least a No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.
On Saturday night, they fell hard against the Lakers, suffering a heavy 129-101 defeat. The Warriors quickly found themselves in a significant double-digit deficit, trailing by as much as 32 points during the game, including 17 points just in the first quarter. They were unable to narrow the score to single digits at any point, which is, well, pretty disheartening for fans.
The loss leaves the Warriors 4.5 games behind the Lakers with only 22 games left in the season. To even their season series against Los Angeles, they must win their final matchup on April 9.
Coach Steve Kerr candidly acknowledged, “It’s tough. It’s tough to recover in 22 games.”
Injuries have been a real issue for the Warriors. Stephen Curry is missing his tenth consecutive game due to a knee injury, and Kristaps Porzingis was ruled out just before the game due to illness. The remaining starters visibly struggled against the Lakers’ trio of stars, which is, frankly, alarming.
LeBron James (22 points, nine assists, seven rebounds), Luka Doncic (26 points, eight assists, six rebounds), and Austin Reeves (18 points) all checked out midway through the fourth quarter, still managing to outscore Guy Santos, the Warriors’ leading scorer, who only managed 14 points.
The injury woes continued when rookie Will Richard twisted his ankle and had to leave the game in the second quarter.
The Warriors are currently holding onto the No. 8 seed. They’ll have to either win against the No. 7 Suns away or secure a second play-in victory against the Trail Blazers or Clippers—positions that appear largely filled. After this recent loss, they find themselves three games behind the Suns for the No. 7 seed and 2.5 games behind the Blazers for the No. 9 spot.
“We don’t talk about that,” Kerr said when asked about their standing. “It’s not something worth discussing because we just need to go out and win the game and see what happens.”
While the Warriors successfully advanced from the play-ins last season and even upset the Rockets in the first round, they expressed feeling unprepared during the final two months of that season. Curry’s injury at that time led to an exit in five games against the Timberwolves.
The absence of Jimmy Butler for the rest of the season adds to Golden State’s complications. Furthermore, Curry’s timeline for return remains uncertain. An update on his knee is expected on Sunday, but there are reports that he experienced a setback during the All-Star break, and the situation regarding his knee, often referred to as runner’s knee, has been far from steady.
In an interview aired during the game, Curry mentioned he anticipated “it’s going to take a little while” before being cleared to return. The Warriors’ next game is against the Clippers on Monday.
