It’s hard to count out Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors from the title race. That goes without saying when you won it all the previous year and kept your core pieces together.
But you can’t blame a few NBA observers and analysts for being skeptical given how putrid the Warriors have been on the road this season. Golden State has become the first team in the entire NBA to hit 29 road losses after their 133-119 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
They’ve lost 11 games in a row away from the friendly confines of Chase Center, which is just one shy of the worst road losing streak by a defending champion in NBA history. The only team worse? The Chicago Bulls the year after they lost both Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
The Warriors loss to the Grizzlies Saturday was their 11th straight road loss.
That’s the 2nd-longest road losing streak by a defending champion in NBA history.
The Bulls lost 12 straight road games in 1998-99. pic.twitter.com/eSZ95aSK6K
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 19, 2023
Not exactly promising given that the Warriors didn’t lose any multiple-time MVPs or all-time defenders and largely kept their rotation players the same.
The Warriors do have one of the best home records in the NBA at 29-7, a direct inverse of their 7-29 road record through 72 games into the season. However, given their position as a likely play-in team with their ceiling looking like the fifth seed if things shake out right in the final 10 games, Steph Curry and the gang won’t be having home-court advantage and will need to find a way to break out of their road funk.
The clock is ticking for the Warriors to figure things out sooner rather than later. They have five more road games to close the season and find their footing.
