Flogging a Dead Horse (Warriors 95, Celtics 128)

The saying goes, there is no point in flogging a dead horse – since, you know, in the bluntest sense, the horse is dead. And yet, in light of my affinity for the Golden State Warriors, I’m going to go ahead and do just that in this post. None of the factors that doomed the Dubs are foreign or new to anyone who has been following the team this year. Horrid start to the game? Check – the Warriors were down 11-0 before most of Roaracle could even sit down. Bad defense? Check – there were a number of atrocious defensive miscommunications between players that would be unacceptable even in the preseason. Stagnant offense? Check – the Warriors ended the game with just 26 assists, and balanced them out with my next talking point – turnovers. Triple check here, as the Warriors coughed up the rock 21 (!!) times. And with each turnover, the Warriors’ body language deteriorated, which brings me to my final talking point: a general malaise that is permeating the Dubs’ play. Gone is the joy from the beginning of this season. Gone is the energy that characterized Warriors basketball. I don’t believe in overreacting to a single game, but we’re now over three-quarters of the way through the regular season, and the trend is clear: all of the aforementioned issues crop up in spades when the Dubs get rocked. The Warriors have no-showed nearly all of their big games at Oracle, to my immense chagrin, since those are the games I go to. This 128-95 shellacking at the hands of the Boston Celtics is another course correction after a huge win on the road Saturday, yet another twist in a frustratingly up-and-down season.

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