The Golden State Warriors have turned a corner ever since the trade deadline. Jimmy Butler provides the team with much-needed firepower. That’s why the Dub Nation is watching on in shock. After seven straight wins, it’s the Denver Nuggets without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray who are dissecting the Warriors. And nobody is enjoying it.
The Warriors went down by 12 by halftime. Moreover, with how undermanned the Nuggets are, the Bay’s struggles have been rather frustrating. And some of the people in the arena noticed a glimpse of these emotions leaking. According to Marcus Thompson, Jimmy Butler was frustrated with Buddy Hield for being hesitant to shoot the ball.
“After the end of the third, Jimmy was frustrated with Buddy for not shooting. Butler missed his buzzer-beating 3. Hield, 0-for-3, didn’t feel the rhythm,” Thompson wrote.
It’s not clear yet, but the duo had a conversation on the sidelines after the quarter. Fans caught Jonathan Kuminga trying to manage their feelings and make peace between his teammates. Butler, though, doesn’t accept lapses when trying to win. Their conversation was animated as all three players got a word in.
However, if you ask the Dub Nation who they are angry at, it would be none of them. Their answer is Stephen Curry.
Stephen Curry becomes the villain for Dub Nation
The Warriors came close to pulling themselves back into the game after trailing by 15 against the Nuggets. But Denver barely made any mistakes. Without the ‘Joker’, Russell Westbrook logged a triple-double and Aaron Gordon had one of the games of his life, scoring 38! On the exact opposite side, Stephen Curry became the fans’ reason for the Warriors’ loss.
“Get Steph Curry out of this game. Tired of these bozo turnovers,“ an upset fan wrote on X. The game itself featured a high number of turnovers. Both teams gave away possession 20 times each. The two-time MVP was tied for the most turnovers by a player tonight, making seven mistakes.
In a game where the Warriors were looking to spark something, his regular turnovers kept giving Denver the chance to expand their lead. They scored 25 points off fast breaks, four greater than the Warriors. It didn’t help that Stephen Curry didn’t have his best game either. “He has at least cost us 15 points from his turnovers alone,” a fan wrote about the 36-year-old’s disappointing performance.
Curry was the second-highest scorer for the Warriors. He tallied 20 points in the nine-point loss. However, he only shot 28.6% from the field. Surprisingly, fans wouldn’t mind a bad shooting night from the NBA’s all-time great shooter. “I rather see a half-court shot than those turnovers lol,“ a fan mentioned.
Bad shots are a part of the game. Turnovers are no different, but they leave teams vulnerable in transition. And due to the influx of turnovers early in the game, the Nuggets were able to build a large lead they could preserve until the final buzzer. It ended the Warriors’ impressive seven-game win streak.
Although the streak might have ended sooner or later, fans just didn’t expect it to end in a terrible fashion. But they felt Stephen Curry was never engaged in the game. Hence, they were glad that the night was over. “Hope he enjoys his day off tomorrow after single-handedly losing us this game,“ a Warriors fan wrote about Stephen Curry.
The truth is the Golden State Warriors have been an amazing team since adding Jimmy Butler. But as upsetting as it is when things go wrong, this also gives them an opportunity to learn things about each other. The team has shown it can compete and win against great sides.
But when the underdogs stun the giants, it underscores the minute errors that need immediate fixing. For the Warriors, complacency is not an option.
