Kevin Durant is out for at least a month, and the Golden State Warriors’ 146-game streak of not losing consecutive games is over. With the second-place San Antonio Spurs quietly winning seven games in a row and 12 of their last 14, the Warriors found themselves answering questions about the race for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Even after their 112-105 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday, they are still just 2.5 games ahead of the Spurs.
“We still want to get the 1 seed,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s a big deal. So we’re just trying to win every game. And not worrying about it too much. We know that there’s gonna be some difficult points in the schedule, some bumps in the road, that kind of stuff. We’re going through that right now; just keep going and see what happens.”
Stephen Curry said that “all of our focus” needs to be on keeping the top spot. He said this on Saturday at the Warriors’ only practice in about two weeks. They won’t have another one before facing San Antonio this coming Saturday, which is on the second night of a back-to-back and their eighth game in 13 days, all in different cities.
“Wonderful schedule,” Kerr said, sarcastically praising the league’s “infinite wisdom.”
Like Golden State general manager Bob Myers said, though, nobody’s going to feel sorry for this superteam. The Warriors still have depth and star power, and they will need to summon some extra energy -- hey, maybe that’s how recently signed forward Matt Barnes can help -- to get road wins this week and avoid losing ground to the Spurs.
WARRIORS CHECK-IN
Record: 51-11
Scoring leader: Kevin Durant (25.3)
Assists leader: Draymond Green (7.3)
Rebounding leader: Kevin Durant (8.2)
Last week: Defeated Sixers, Knicks, lost to Wizards, Bulls (2-2)
GAMES THIS WEEK
Monday, 7:30 p.m. ET: Atlanta Hawks
Where: Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
TV: NBA League Pass
Streaming: NBA League Pass
Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET: Boston Celtics
Where: Oracle Arena in Oakland, California
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN
Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET: Minnesota Timberwolves
Where: Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: NBA TV
Streaming: PlayStation Vue
Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET: San Antonio Spurs
Where: AT&T Center
TV: ABC
Streaming: WatchESPN
KEEP AN EYE ON ...
Shooting struggles over?
When Curry missed his first four 3-pointers in New York, he was 3-for-35 from deep on this road trip. That is a serious slump for a normal player; for the best shooter of all-time, it is almost unfathomable. Curry was uncharacteristically missing wide-open looks, the sort of shots that defenses are terrified of surrendering. Then he erupted for 15 third-quarter points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 3-for-4 from deep -- much more normal.
Curry finished with 31 points on 11-for-24 shooting against the Knicks, and Klay Thompson -- also misfiring at the start of the trip -- had 29 points on 8-for-21 shooting. The Warriors have to hope that the Splash Brothers’ brief cold spell was just a blip on the radar. History suggests it was.
Defending without Durant
In the wake of Durant’s injury, much of the discussion about Golden State has centered around how it will adjust without him. On offense, Durant could score from everywhere and bail the team out at the end of any possession that went awry. Now the Warriors will have to rely more on their ball movement creating open looks, with additional pressure on Curry, Green, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston making plays.
On defense, though, Durant might be even harder to replace. Barnes helps because he can play the 4 in small lineups, but it will take a team effort to make up for the loss of Durant’s length and versatility.
“He’s definitely a huge part of our defense on the wing, as a rim protector, all of that,” Green said. “We just gotta be all on a string, covering for each other, trying to stop guys from getting to the rim. If we’re all on a string, we’re locked in on that side of the floor, we’ll be just fine.”
The Barnes/McCaw shuffle
Patrick McCaw started in Durant’s place against the Bulls and Barnes got the start at Madison Square Garden. Both are worth watching for different reasons. With Barnes, it’s about whether or not he can punish teams for leaving him open behind the arc and how he fits into Golden State’s Death Lineup as a power forward. With McCaw, it’s about confidence -- he’s extremely poised for a rookie, but he needs to stop hesitating when he’s open and be aggressive when scoring opportunities present themselves.
BIGGEST ONE-ON-ONE MATCHUP
Isaiah Thomas vs. Curry: It feels weird to call this a one-on-one matchup because the Celtics will throw Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart at Curry, too, but these are two of the best scoring guards in the game. The last time these teams met, Thomas had a relatively quiet night (18 points, 4-for-12, four assists) and the Warriors won easily. Something tells me it will be difficult to hold him in check again.
