The 2022-23 NBA season has officially come to an end for last year’s champions. The Golden State Warriors suffered a crushing 101-122 loss in Game 6, which propelled the Lakers to this year’s Western Conference Finals against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. As a team, the Warriors were abysmal. They combined for a 37.9% 3-point percentage and 27.1% field goal percentage – both of which paled in comparison to the Lakers.
Despite Curry’s overall poor shooting, he was more or less a one-man show on the offensive end. He put up 32 points, which not only led the team but also ended up being double the next highest person. Any guesses as to who was number two in points scored last night?
If you guessed anyone other than Donte DiVincenzo, then you would be wrong. DiVincenzo put up 16 points on the night to add to his four rebounds. Nobody else had more than 1o-points. Draymond (9), Thompson (8), Poole (7), and Wiggins (6) all struggled. Not the performance you would expect to see out of this team – especially from one of the most well-regarded trios (Curry, Thompson, Green) in the NBA.
Now here’s the million-dollar question: Where do the Warriors go from here? The Athletic provides some insight here:
As the franchise’s lead decision makers reconvene in the coming weeks to plot out the path forward, that matters. They’re facing a rocketing luxury tax bill, increased penalties from the new Collective Bargaining Agreement for living in that financial ballpark and, because of it, challenging choices about how much and who to pay.
But in discussions with those who pull the organizational levers in recent weeks, this much has been made clear: There’s still internal belief that this established, aging core can compete for titles because Stephen Curry remains a top-five player in the NBA and Draymond Green and Klay Thompson show no signs of a steep decline. Green made the All-Defensive team again this season and Thompson, despite a brutal shooting series against the Lakers (34.3 percent) that included shooting just 3-of-19 in the elimination game, led the NBA in made 3s this season. Curry’s ability to keep these Warriors a contender year after year gives the franchise every motivation to maximize his peak years — even as the 2022 NBA Finals MVP turned 35 in March.
That Jordan Poole contract-extension looking pretty bad right now.
With tonight's win, LeBron is now the all-time leader in playoff series wins with 41.
Another record to add to his already unbelievable career.
Even sweeter doing it vs Steph and the Warriors.
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— Uncovering the Truth (@shendy456) May 13, 2023
What a run for Steph and the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/ldxihGfHCu
— ESPN (@espn) May 13, 2023
Steve Kerr had this to say after the Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/TLaoNTRWnd
— ESPN (@espn) May 13, 2023