Warriors week 22 review/week 23 preview

The Golden State Warriors are mired in yet another slump, and unfortunately bad news awaits them, as they’re getting ready to embark on a five-game road trip — which features four games this week.

A long road trip is daunting enough as is, before you factor in Steph Curry’s injury. It will likely take Draymond Green heroics, Jordan Poole continuing his hot streak, and Klay Thompson rounding into shape for it to be a good week. Andrew Wiggins bouncing back sure would be nice, too.

Personally, I’m in favor of these things. So let’s do the damn thing, Dubs ... but first, let’s review the week that was, and look ahead to the week that will be.

Where they stand

Record: 47-24
Standing: 3rd seed in the West (1.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies, 2 games ahead of the Utah Jazz)
Offensive rating: 12th (113.0)
Defensive rating: 3rd (107.2)
Net rating: 5th (+5.7)

Team ratings are garbage-time adjusted, courtesy of Cleaning The Glass.

Weekly recap

Monday: Beat the Washington Wizards 126-112
Wednesday: Lost to the Boston Celtics 110-88
Sunday: Lost to the San Antonio Spurs 110-108

A losing record, at home, with Steph Curry getting injured. It’s hard to imagine a week much worse than the one the Warriors just had!

Performance of the week

Steph Curry vs. the Wizards: 47 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 16-for-25 shooting, 7-for-14 threes, 8-for-8 free throws.

Curry put on an absolute show in what was likely his last full game of the regular season. It was Green’s return to the lineup, and Curry worked majestically alongside him, springing free all around the three-point line, and attacking the rim with creativity, finesse, and aggression.

It was the total package, and a reminder as to how absurdly good the trio of Steph, Klay, and Dray can be.

Honorable mention goes to...

Jordan Poole vs. the Spurs: 28 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 11-for-21 shooting, 4-for-9 threes, 2-for-2 free throws.

Poole made it nine straight games with 20 or more points on Sunday, and is blossoming into a star before our eyes — and at the exact perfect time, I might add.

Highlight of the week

It’s sadly going to be a while before we get to see Curry hoop again, so let’s watch him drop 47 on Washington.

This week’s schedule

Tuesday: @ the Orlando Magic (19-53), 4:00 p.m. PT
Wednesday: @ the Miami Heat (47-24), 4:30 p.m. PT
Friday: @ the Atlanta Hawks (35-36), 4:30 p.m. PT
Sunday: @ the Washington Wizards (30-40), 3:00 p.m. PT

The bad news: the Warriors play all four games on the road this week, and there’s a back-to-back, though thankfully they’re staying in Florida for it.

The good news: only one team on the docket has a winning record.

Easiest game of the week

Tuesday @ the Magic

The five-game road trip starts with the second-worst team in basketball, an Orlando squad still in search of win No. 20 (the Warriors, for reference, snagged their 20th win in the first week of December).

The future may be bright for the Magic, who have some interesting young players — including rookies Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner — but the present is rather dim. They are bad, and sport the type of putrid offense that a Draymond-led defense should feast on.

Hardest game of the week

Wednesday @ the Heat

A day after facing the worst team in the East, the Warriors will face the best. Miami holds a three-game lead over the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference standing, and features a two-way, three-headed monster of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry ... and that’s before mentioning the ultra-versatile P.J. Tucker, Sixth Man of the Year favorite Tyler Herro, or the best coach in the NBA, Erik Spoelstra.

A road game, on the back end of a back-to-back, against the East’s top squad, without Curry, would be a serious injection of life and confidence into this floundering Dubs squad.

Prediction time!

In last week’s review/preview, 71 people voted on how the Warriors week would go. Of those 71, exactly 0 predicted a 1-2 record. I applaud the confidence — 72% expected a 3-0 week, while the remaining 28% figured the Dubs would go 2-1 — but unfortunately the Warriors did not reward it.

Might be harder to be optimistic this week, but let’s try.