The Golden State Warriors have struggled an awful lot this season but they have shown some signs of life recently.
The Warriors have looked like their old selves, but Nick Wright believes they have no shot at defending their title. The co-host of FS1’s First Things First believes even the Los Angeles Lakers have a better chance than Golden State.
“The Warriors have a zero percent chance of winning the title,” Wright said. “So every team that I think could do it has a better chance and the Lakers, however unlikely, we know the path. Now I could go pro political ad and tell y’all that the Lakers since the trade deadline have the second-best defense in the league and Anthony Davis is playing great and maybe the time off could be good for LeBron (James) and they’re 5-2 in their last seven but that’s not what I want to do.”
Wright brings up some positives for the Lakers but he really wanted to explain why the Warriors have absolutely no chance of winning.
“I want to actually go negative on the Warriors. The Warriors have been from before the year started when I have a hard time remembering that something weird happened with them. It was post-parade, pre-ring night. There was a, oh yeah, their veteran leader (Draymond Green) slugged their new $100 million guy (Jordan Poole) in the face and we all saw it.”
Wright believes that Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole before the season is still hovering over the team like a dark cloud. He also stated that the Warriors have just been mediocre all season long and then pointed to their struggles on the road.
“Then there is this other problem, which is this, the road record … Because we know they’re going to be on the road for every series, and that strikes me as a team that can’t win four series in a row, all of which will start and end on the road. This is not a pro-Lakers argument, it is that the Warriors are drawing dead.”
The most significant point that Wright brings up is the one regarding their road record. The Warriors are 7-24 on their travels this season, with only the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs winning fewer games on the road. They will almost certainly not have home-court advantage in any series that they play in and for a team that has been so bad away from home, that does spell trouble.
Flipping that switch on their travels is going to be difficult, but the thing with the Warriors is that they have shown over the years that they can win on the road when it matters most. They have won at least one road playoff game in each of their last 27 playoff series, which is an NBA record. It would give them the belief they can get it done, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t concerned about how this season has gone.
Stephen Curry Sounded Off On The Warriors’ Struggles On The Road
The Warriors had won five games in a row and were on a roll, but all of those games were at home. They then had to travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on Sunday and promptly lost on the road yet again.
Stephen Curry did finally make his return in that game and he admitted they have been trash on the road in all categories. He is still confident about their playoff outlook though, stating that they will be a tough out for anybody. They certainly will be, but the Warriors will be hoping to gain some momentum on the road before the playoffs start.
Source: fadeawayworld
