SAN FRANCISCO -- The hope is that Stephen Curry returns sometime after the All-Star break and, even before he has a chance to shoot holes through a defense, gives the Warriors a few elements they desperately need.
That is, at the most optimistic, at least 10 games away. Realistically, more like 15.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are facing the stiff headwinds that blow during the dog days of January. They’re stumbling. Tumbling. They’ve lost 12 of their last 13 games, and their showing Wednesday night may have been the most fretful yet.
In the course of being thrashed, 129-96, by the Utah Jazz, there were too many moments when the despair was profoundly evident.