When Stephen Curry sat out Friday night, most of Dub Nation knew it would be tough to take down the Denver Nuggets. But nobody expected the Golden State Warriors to look this lost. The 129–104 blowout wasn’t just a loss — it was an exposure of every defensive crack we’ve been trying to ignore.
Denver shot a scorching 56.1% from the field and 48.5% from deep, basically turning Chase Center into a three-point practice gym. Nikola Jokic? Just another casual night — 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting, nine assists, seven rebounds… in only 28 minutes. Yeah, that bad.
And honestly, it could’ve been worse. The Nuggets didn’t even need to go full throttle.
Defense Exposed Everywhere You Look
No rim protection. No defensive rotations. No communication.
Jonas Valanciunas looked like a young Shaq out there with 16 points in 16 minutes. Aaron Gordon was flying high — literally — finishing with 18 points and a poster dunk that’ll live on highlight reels all week. Jamal Murray, meanwhile, danced through our defense for 23 on just 12 shots.
It’s not like the Warriors don’t have excuses — three back-to-backs, constant travel, a handful of banged-up vets (Butler, Green, Moody), and no Al Horford. But excuses don’t get stops, and stops are what this team desperately needs.
Where the Warriors Go from Here
We’ve seen flashes. That 98–79 lockdown win over the Clippers wasn’t that long ago. But it’s starting to feel like the outlier, not the standard.
Golden State currently ranks 16th in defensive rating, a sharp drop from last season’s top-seven finish. The age question is creeping in. The rotations are a step late. The transition defense? Nonexistent.
Draymond can only patch so many holes, and when the ship’s taking on water from all sides, even the heart of the defense can’t hold it together.
Turnovers remain an issue (8th worst in the league), gifting opponents easy transition buckets. The good news? That’s fixable — especially with Jimmy Butler taking more control of the ball. But fixing turnovers doesn’t solve rim protection, rebounding, or perimeter defense.
The schedule isn’t doing us any favors either: a brutal six games in nine days against OKC, San Antonio (twice), Orlando, and Miami.
Getting Steph back will obviously help — the energy, the spacing, the rhythm — but this team needs to rediscover its defensive pride now, before this early-season slump becomes a full-blown problem.
