After a promising start to this season, aided by a significantly revamped roster, the Warriors are tumbling back into their two worst tendencies of last season.
Turnovers, which are the subject of incessant discussion.
And late-game collapses.
Both were on display Wednesday night in a 91-90 loss to the Rockets at Toyota Center. This was the latest loss in which the Warriors were on the road to victory before making a U-turn into defeat. These finishes can take a toll on the gut and maybe the mind.
If Golden State’s coaching staff and roster can’t pull themselves together and shake this debilitating pattern, the NBA playoffs, formerly the “Warriors Invitational,” will proceed without them for a second consecutive season.
“The pattern of scoreless droughts down the stretch has to be addressed, or else we’re going to be a mediocre team,” Stephen Curry told reporters in Houston. “I take responsibility for not being able to get us organized or not being able to finish plays. The ball is in my hands, I’ve got to make shots.
“But I think we all can address certain sets that can get us better shot-creation opportunities, knowing how teams are trying to guard us, especially in the last five minutes.”
The latest debacle came after the Warriors laid an egg in the first half and spun it into gold for most of the second. They trailed by as much as 14 in the second quarter but fought back to lead by seven with 3:38 remaining.
The offense then flatlined with poor execution, missed shots and turnovers in the final minutes. The Warriors committed 22 turnovers, giving Houston 30 points. Seven of those giveaways came in the fourth quarter, giving Houston 14 of its 23 points in the quarter.
“That’s our fault,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We didn’t score. We had a turnover on a pass from Draymond (Green) to (Jonathan Kuminga). We had done a great job taking care of the ball after that first quarter-and-a-half that was a disaster. Dray has got to make a good decision there. He took a chance throwing it to JK. He’s got to get the ball back to Steph (Curry) on that. He knows. He feels terrible in there.
“And I could have done a better job getting us into something different, to try to free up Steph or JK. So, we all take it. We all took part in this one.”
Kerr was justifiably livid with some of the officiating, particularly a late-game call that defied the way the game was refereed over the first 47-plus minutes. But that’s not a pattern. Or even a developing trend.
Sprinkling turnovers liberally throughout the game and descending into untimely offensive droughts are more than a trend. They’ve moved into the next stage, a pattern, and are spiraling toward a habit.
“We can talk about the refs all day,” Curry said. “That’s not why we lost.”
Outscoring the Rockets 52-38 over the first 20-plus minutes of the second half, only to be outscored 9-1 in crunch time is reminiscent of what has occurred too often for the Warriors over the last nine games, seven of which ended with them eating the L.
An 11-point lead over Denver with 6:13 remaining turned into a four-point loss on Dec. 3. Scoring five points in the last 5:45 doomed them against the Thunder on Nov. 27, and that came two days after a three-point deficit with 3:26 remaining become an eight-point loss to Brooklyn.
Which came two days after the Warriors outscored 16-4 in the final 5:22 at San Antonio on Nov. 23.
The Warriors have played 15 “clutch games” this season and have lost eight, including six of the last seven. They were 24-24 in such games last season and missed the playoffs.
“We’re talking about it,” Curry said. “We’re experimenting. That’s going to be defining point of our full season, whether we figure it out or don’t because we’re playing well enough to win most games.
“That’s a good sign and a bad sign.”
The trend, evolving toward habit, is a profoundly bad sign. It’s about as ominous as it gets for a team with designs on making the playoffs, and then being a legitimate threat to the league’s elite.