It looked a lot like Deja Vu for the Warriors at Chase Center on Sunday, losing their second game in 24 hours to another youthful, athletic team that was too much to handle.
After losing to the Cavs on Saturday, the Warriors immediately went back into the battlefield, this time against the Minnesota Timberwolves — the best-rated defensive team in the NBA.
The Warriors trailed 54-51 at the half, but found themselves in a 3rd quarter rut that they could never get out of.
They trailed 89-73 at the start of the 4th quarter, and against the defense-savvy T-Wolves, the uphill climb was nearly an impossible task.
But somehow, just like Saturday, the bench unit added some fireworks to make the game a little crazy at the end, cutting the lead to 114-110 with less than a minute to go.
Steph Curry did all he could through four quarters, once again leading a one-man show with 38 points in 36 minutes, but the defensive prowess of Jaden McDaniels, Karl Anthony-Towns, Rudy Gobert, and an impressive 33-point performance from Anthony Edwards was enough to combat Currymania.
The Warriors shot under 39% from the field and were out-blocked 6-0, a good statistic to reflect how the T-Wolves’ defense was too much to overcome.
Just like Saturday, the Warriors threw the white flag, taking out all the starters down 112-100 with 1:12 left to go. They eventually won 116-110.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ loss.
Steph Curry is on an island
Curry is putting 110 percent into every play, every shot and every game, but the early-season MVP can’t do it alone.
To put it into numbers, Curry has put up 27, 41, 24, 42, 21, 30, 28, 34, 23, 30 and 38 points in eleven games this season.
No other Warriors player has put up more than 20 points so far.
This layup at the end of the first half is a good summary of how the Warriors’ scoring has looked as a whole.
Curry has been a one-man offense with little-to-no help, and when Curry isn’t making every shot, the offense is completely stuck — especially the starting lineup.
At the half, no other Warriors starter had more than five points.
The Warriors lost by six points while putting up 14 more shots, which is another mind-boggling stat to understand, but the shots just aren’t falling.
No one else besides Steph can score consistently. Klay Thompson put up a respectable 16 points, but still shot 5-for-16 from the field and 3-for-10 from 3.
Recently, Curry is at the top of the mountain while everyone else still seems to be at the bottom.
It’s okay for Curry to be at the top, but there needs to be some balance in order for the Warriors to be contenders.
Length and athleticism may be Warriors’ kryptonite
This loss felt very similar to the one that happened 24 hours ago against the Cavaliers.
The speed, length and athleticism of McDaniels, Towns, Gobert and Edwards were too much for the Warriors.
Against the Cavs and Timberwolves at least, it looks like the young guys have the edge over the old guys in Golden State to start the season.
Throughout the game, McDaniels was on Curry and even when he got his screens, Curry had McDaniels trailing him and Gobert in front of him in the paint, making life extremely difficult anywhere on the court.
The Timberwolves have the best-rated defense in the NBA, so seeing them lock down the Warriors shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Outside of Looney, the Warriors lack length and height, making their interior defense a significant weakness in the early part of the season.
Even though Draymond is known for being a premier defender, there is something to be said when he has to be the one guarding a 7′ 1″ Gobert.
These two games could be a very telling story of how the Warriors fight this, for better or worse.
Warriors are playing frisky
Even with back-to-back losses on back-to-back nights, the passion and aggressiveness at times over the last 24 hours resembles a key aspect of the Warriors’ championship run.
After Draymond got ejected on Saturday for being his usual chippy self, Johnathan Kuminga showed a burst of aggression after this dunk over Naz Reid in the first quarter.
Right after the dunk, Kuminga drove into the paint on the next possession, drew the foul, and made both free throws.
Kuminga hasn’t really shown this side of him this season, and it’s encouraging to see the younger guys outside of Draymond embracing the grittiness of the game.
Despite the back-to-back losses at home, the Draymond ejection and the Kuminga play have led to two of the loudest moments at Chase Center this season.