The Golden State Warriors’ season is not beginning as hoped.
The oldest team in the NBA lost 131-122 to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, pushing their record to 0-3. It’s their first streak of three losses to begin a season since 2007-08, meaning this is the first time they have been 0-3 in Stephen Curry’s entire career.
Before this season, the Warriors’ worst start with Curry was when they went 1-5 to open the 2019-20 season, which is remembered for being the year they were recovering from losing Kevin Durant to free agency and Klay Thompson to an ACL tear before Curry broke his hand in the fourth game. But even in that season, they won their third game.
This season’s team came with tempered expectations. Curry and Draymond Green are still around, but Jimmy Butler isn’t expected to return from a torn ACL until midseason, while Kristaps Porzingis is still dealing with POTS symptoms. The team’s remaining depth is questionable at best.
Saturday’s game saw Curry, Green and Brandin Podziemski all sitting out the second leg of a back-to-back. The resulting starting lineup: Yaxel Lendeborg, Brandon Williams, Graham Ike, Will Richard and Gui Santos.
That group couldn’t stop Suns star Devin Booker from dropping 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting plus 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Golden State had its moments, but a late run in the third quarter put the game out of reach.
The Warriors’ entire ethos at this point is maximizing whatever they can get from their once-in-a-generation player in Curry. Last year saw them lose in the play-in tournament with head coach Steve Kerr openly admitting he didn’t know what the future held for him, Curry and Green.
Kerr opted to return on a two-year contract rather than retire. He and the rest of the team now have some work to do to avoid a fate even worse than last season, to say nothing of a fifth championship for the team’s current era.