Warriors fading into obscurity as losses pile up

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr may not want to publicly admit what's happening to his team.

The Warriors '25-'26 have become an afterthought in the Bay Area sports scene after its fifth consecutive loss and seven of their last eight games. The latest was a 21-point blown lead to the New York Knicks on Sunday evening 110-107.

Injuries have ravaged this team like no other season before. Jimmy Butler has been gone for the season after tearing the ACL in his knee back in January. Steph Curry has been dealing with a knee issue for a month and a half and hasn't played a game since December 30th against the Detroit Pistons. Draymond Green's body has shown the signs of the wear and tear over 14 NBA seasons. Combine that with Steph's brother Seth dealing with a sciatica issue since being signed by Golden State on December 1, 2025, the ongoing anemic issue with recently acquired Kristaps Porzingis, and Moses Moody being out for an extended period of time, the Warriors have become a G-League team when they step out on to the court for a game.

It has become extremely difficult to watch Kerr trotting out a different lineup each and every single night. This is a team playing bad basketball for 48 minutes with its horrible 3-point shooting, unforced turnovers and being afraid to attack to the rim. To their defense they don't have the size needed to consistently have a big number of points in the paint, which is usually why you'll see whoever drives toward the basket kick it back out to beyond the arc for a poor percentage 3-pointer, especially when chucked up Brandin Podziemski. De'Anthony Melton has become the only consistent scorer for Golden State.

When I confronted Kerr at his press conference after the team's 127-117 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves this past Friday evening at Chase Center, about whether he thought his team was fading into obscurity, he sarcastically mocked me wearing a mask. What Kerr didn't know was I was wearing one out of precaution after suffering from a bout of pneumonia during the month of February.

Once he turned serious, he was still holding on to the hope that his team would get better down the stretch once they got back both Curry's, Green, Moody and Al Horford, who suffered a lower body injury during the first quarter of the game.

"We just hit a spell where we're just getting wiped out and it happens occasionally, said Kerr regarding the losing streak. "I'm excited about when we get healthy, when we have Steph (Curry), Moses (Moody) and Al (Horford) and Kristaps (Porzingis) and the whole group. With all these young guys, the experience they're getting, they're going to be that much better when we get back. I just feel like there's brighter days ahead."

If those brighter days ahead are getting past the two play-in games (as they are currently in ninth place and only a half game up on the Portland Trailblazers in 10th) just to have a date with either the defending NBA Champions Oklahoma Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs, is it really worth it to get beat in the first round and even worse bring back Steph to potentially get beat up like he did in the first round against the Houston Rockets last year and risk further injury??

I personally believe, and I'm not alone on this like the fading into obscurity idea, that the smart move in looking long term would be for Kerr, director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini and management to shut down Steph for the rest of the season so he can have a proper offseason to rehab and strengthen his knee. Having him play in the final week of the season just for him to suffer more wear and tear on his just turned 38-year-old body is not worth the immediate return.

You could say the same thing regarding shutting down Green as well. As I mentioned earlier, he's no spring chicken either and having him to play center and having to defend the size and athleticism of the Thunder's starting lineup is asking too much when he's not at 100 percent. Of course, the competitiveness of Green and Curry will want to play and showcase what they are able to do. So, it would be practically impossible to keep them off the court if they're able to play.

I don't believe it's worth the price of a potential first round exit. If Kerr is genially serious about the younger guys gaining more valuable experience, then let them finish out the season and evaluate which ones are worth keeping around for next season when the team will come back fully healthy and make another attempt at a fifth Larry O'Brien trophy with its core group of Curry, Green and Butler.