Since the arrival of Steve Kerr in 2014, the Warriors have always been able to count on home advantage, except during the cataclysmic 2019/20 season. Whether at Oracle Arena or Chase Center, it was indeed rare to see them win less than 70% of their home games. This is where they saved their campaign last year to allow them to finish in 6th place in the Western Conference.
This season, they are 18 wins and 14 losses away but 17 wins and 18 losses at Chase Center. Before the game against the Knicks, Steve Kerr could not explain this anomaly.
“Last season there was no explanation why we couldn't win away when we were almost unbeatable at home, and this season it's the opposite. It's really weird, even more so this season because we've always performed well at home but that doesn't mean we can't start to reverse the trend now.” he explained. “That’s the speech I gave to the players today and that’s our goal to finish the season. »
His players responded to this challenge… by conceding an 18-4 in the first five minutes of the match against the Knicks, forcing them to chase the score throughout the match. They never managed to catch up.
Stephen Curry: “Honestly, it doesn't matter if we're 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th. If we play like tonight, we won't go very far.”
Since the All-Star Game, the Warriors have lost four of their seven home games, including three in a row against the Bulls, the Spurs (without Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama) and the Knicks. This is the second game in a row where they have suffered a 15-point deficit in the first half.
“We have experienced all the scenarios this season. Tonight, we missed our first six minutes, against Denver we missed our last six minutes” described Stephen Curry. “We've had several games like tonight where we're supposed to win and the loss may not be as dramatic as the one at the buzzer against Denver, but it's still a loss. Our first six minutes defined the game and gave them confidence in their ability to win. Tonight's defeat, like those against San Antonio or Chicago, hurts because it stops us from the momentum we are trying to create. »
If the Warriors are today 10th in the West, largely because of their first part of the season and the suspensions of Draymond Green, these three defeats in a row at home almost condemn them to remain in 9th or 10th place in their conference. To hope to go higher, they would have to win four more games than the Mavs or the Suns in their last fifteen games. You should never say never, but this mission is almost impossible and Stephen Curry seems aware of it.
“A week or two ago, the goal was to reach 6th place. Now the motivation is simply to be consistent in our level of play and to arrive at mid-April on a good pace.” he describes. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter if we’re 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th. If we play like tonight, we won't go very far. »
Comments collected in San Francisco.
