Steph Curry and Draymond Green aren’t enough in Warriors ugly loss to Pistons

On the second half of their first back-to-back of the season, the Golden State Warriors lost 128-114 to the Detroit Pistons in the team’s worst performance of this young season. The Warriors sat veteran guard Klay Thompson but decided to play stars like Steph Curry and Draymond Green to try and keep the team’s record above .500. Instead, the early-season defensive woes continued in an ugly overall performance.

The Warriors looked lethargic on both ends of the floor. The impact of the back-to-back probably was most obvious in their shooting. The Dubs shot just 4-for-21 from behind the arc in the first half, making just 30% of their attempts from the field in the second quarter. With Detroit taking advantage of Golden State’s continued struggles defensively, they led 63-55 at the half.

The Pistons went on an early run to build a 19-point lead. It seemed like the Warriors were on the brink of a collapse, but Jordan Poole stepped up to keep Golden State within striking distance. Poole scored 15 points on five consecutive Warriors possessions, single-handedly leading a 15-3 run to cut the Pistons lead to eight.

Even with that impressive run, though, the Warriors lacked the sustained defensive effort to get back in the game. The Pistons led 100-91 at the end of the third quarter, becoming the latest team to reach triple digits before the fourth quarter against the Warriors.

While the Warriors had some moments in the fourth, big baskets by Saddiq Bey, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Jaden Ivy always seemed to stop Golden State from building a prolonged run.

A Warriors loss would have been more excusable if the team had sat players like Curry and Green. Instead, the Dubs got the worst of both worlds, their veterans took the floor and were a part of the team's worst performance of the season.

Curry and Poole combined to score 62 points on 45 shots from the field, but Andrew Wiggins was the only other Warrior in double figures. Wiggins finished a game-worst -25 in plus/minus and easily had his worst performance of the season. James Wiseman and JaMychael Green were the only Dubs players who finished with a positive plus/minus.

Bey led the Pistons in scoring with 28, Bogdanovic, Cade Cunningham, and Isaiah Stewart all scored at least 21 points. Cunningham was one assist short of triple-double, recording 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. Ivy scored 15 points as well.

The Warriors road trip continues on Tuesday when they face the Miami Heat with tip-off scheduled at 4:30 PM Pacific.

What’s going wrong for the Warriors? Are you worried about the Dubs? Join Marc over on Twitch for the Golden State of Mind postgame show: