Golden State Warriors were considered as one of the favorites to retain their title prior to the start of 2022-23 season. However, the reality has been completely opposite as their current record is 15-18, 11th seed in the Western Conference.
What’s even worse? Their marquee scorer – Stephen Curry has been ruled out of action for indefinite time due to a shoulder injury. With the 3-point king being out action, Steve Kerr’s side looks vulnerable.
They are currently on a 2-game losing streak and are just one-win ahead of Oklahoma City Thunder and 2 wins ahead of Los Angeles Lakers in the WC standings. Golden State Warriors’ on-road record is also amongst the worst teams in the same conference. By the looks of it, it is safe to say that the Dubs might fall further behind in the standings.
Keeping aside Stephen Curry and his current injury – the Golden State Warriors are also deprived of any help now with Gary Payton II not being by their side.
Furthermore, Warriors’ trust in James Wiseman in the 2020 NBA Draft has paid off at all. Wiseman played in 39 games in the 200-21 NBA Season and averaged a solid 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest on 51.9% shooting from the field. But since then, his injury woes have not allowed him to help the team.
With Curry out, Wiseman needs to support Draymond and Klay well on either ends of the court. In the latest game that Wiseman featured in, he had averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds on 56.5% shooting from the field in 15 NBA games for the Golden State Warriors.
Being 11th in the standings, if the Warriors were not to improve their form in Stephen Curry absence, the playoff or rather play-in tournament picture could be a far-fetched goal for them.
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