Recovery (Warriors 122, Spurs 105)

The Golden State Warriors elected to stay out of the fray on the day of the NBA trade deadline, standing firm while chaos unfolded around them. The Cleveland Cavaliers shipped out their entire roster in a dramatic effort to get younger, more athletic, and better on defense and behind the three point arc; the Rockets pounced on the veteran buyout market to reportedly snag Brandan Wright and Joe Johnson; and a number of other teams shuffled deck chairs (and albatross contracts) on their respective Titanics, trying to either stay out of the luxury tax or carve out enough cap room to make a run at free agents this year and next. You can’t fault the Warriors for wanting to avoid upsetting the status quo that has seen them go to the NBA Finals three straight times and win twice, but their recent run of abysmal play, capped off by three losses in four games, certainly raised eyebrows around the league. For one night at least, the decision to stand pat seemed to be validated, as the Warriors shook off another slow start to overwhelm the shorthanded San Antonio Spurs 122-105.

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