Even Steph Curry is baffled by the Warriors’ road woes as the 2022-23 NBA season winds down.
Speaking with 95.7 The Game’s “Steiney and Guru” on Friday, Curry shared that he also was confused about Golden State’s lack of success away from Chase Center and tried to pinpoint the root of the Warriors’ struggles.
“Early in the year, I think the expectations from last year to this year and you realize we had four guys who were part of the rotation in the playoffs that weren’t here,” Curry said. “So we had guys that knew the system, you probably didn’t even need to have to have training camp, we could’ve just rolled it back and understood how we were supposed to play.”
The reigning NBA Finals MVP noted that early in the season, the Warriors coaching staff was tinkering with rotations and lineups, ultimately trying to find the winning combination.
Curry adds that while the Warriors were trying to figure out their optimal rotations, every team they faced gave Golden State all they could handle because they had just won a championship. Those two factors made it difficult for the Warriors to get where they wanted to be.
“We were trying to figure out who we were, this season, this team, this identity and that kind of set the tone where you start 0-8 or something like that until you finally got a win,” Curry continued. “And for us to be defending champs, celebrating a win in Houston like it was a playoff win was kind of hilarious but I honestly don’t know.”
With only a handful of games left until the end of the season, the Warriors currently are 9-29 on the road, the fourth-worst mark in the league. Only the Houston Rockets (6-33), San Antonio Spurs (6-31) and Detroit Pistons (7-30) have worst road records than the defending champions.
Still, the 35-year-old believes that even with the Warriors’ road challenges in the regular season, Curry has all the confidence in Golden State’s ability to win on the road once the playoffs begin.
“But it also doesn’t give me any fear going into a playoff series that we can win,” Curry concluded.
As Golden State continues its journey to repeat as champions, those around the NBA know that Curry is the engine that ultimately will drive the Warriors to the finals.
Even if the Warriors’ playoff journey takes them on the road, expect Curry and the rest of the team to have fun and show off their championship pedigree.
