The Golden State Warriors franchise has not been in this position, trailing 2-0 in the postseason, in the Stephen Curry era.
However, the 2022-23 Golden State Warriors have been in this position, specifically on the road, for the entire regular season.
Unnecessary turnovers, excessive fouls, an abundance of second-chance opportunities, and mental mistakes led to the Warriors' 114-106 defeat to the Sacramento Kings in Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round series.
The Warriors were loose with the basketball from the jump. They turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 25 Sacramento points. Nine turnovers were in the first quarter alone. In the game, the Kings logged 24 deflections. They were also plus-nine at the free throw line and plus-14 in the paint.
“We didn’t handle the pressure well enough,” said Steve Kerr after the loss. “With that said, it’s a tie game with five minutes left.” A Curry floater evened things at 95 in the fourth. The Kings responded with a 6-0 run, grabbing control and, eventually, victory. In Game 1, it was a tie game with 4:25 to play. Both times, the defending NBA champions fell short.
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The game was much more physical than the series opener. The energy inside a cacophonous Golden 1 Center was palpable. There were 51 combined fouls, none bigger than Draymond Green’s flagrant 2 at the 7:03 mark of the fourth. Domantas Sabonis, after falling on a rebound attempt, appeared to grab Green’s foot, and Green responded by stomping Sabonis’ chest. It was not malicious, but clearly, there was an intention. After the game, Green explained he had nowhere else to put his foot and was responding to being pulled. Hopefully, the NBA doesn’t decide that comment or action should cost the Warriors forward more than the end of Game 2.
While the Warriors made a run after Green’s exit, the Kings had an answer. His name was De’Aaron Fox. Brilliant again on Monday night, the league’s-best statistical clutch player followed his 15-point fourth quarter in Game 1 with an 11-point final period in Game 2. His straightaway three-pointer with 2:17 left to make it 107-101 was a backbreaker. It was a dagger-type shot that Golden State has often handed its opponents across four championship runs. The moment the ball left his hand, everyone watching expected nothing but nylon. Swish.
That shot helped put Golden State in a 2-0 series hole. The franchise has not lost the first two games of a postseason series since the second round in 2007 against Utah. Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Warriors are the fifth defending champion to fall behind two games to none in the first round. The previous four lost. Three of them got swept.
Those figures don’t align with what we know about the last nine seasons of Golden State. However, if you’ve paid attention this season, these two Warriors' losses shouldn’t shock you. Of the Warriors' lowly 11 regular season wins on the road, only four came against playoff teams. The most recent, against the Kings on April 7, saw Sacramento rest their regulars. The Warriors have yet to prove their worth away from San Francisco this season.
Golden State has to win one of the next two games to change our minds.
The Warriors have made life difficult for themselves on the road the entire year. Eleven wins and the worst net rating (-4.3) of any playoff team is what they are. Though the first two games in Sacramento have extracted competitiveness, it hasn’t been enough. Now Golden State will attempt to reach a new level at home.
Chase Center is a big reason why Klay Thompson boldly asserted, “We’re not discouraged” after the Game 2 defeat. That’s fair, considering Chase Center is the place the Warriors have righted the ship multiple times after sluggish road trips. It is also who they have been this season.
Golden State has been a top-10 team at home and a bottom-10 team on the road. Perhaps it was unfair to expect them to take one of the first two playoff games in Sacramento. Without home-court advantage, they'll have to win a road game if they want to advance. The Warriors' NBA-record 28 consecutive playoff series with a road win is also in jeopardy.
The history NOT on their side in this: 442 total playoff series have begun 2-0.
Just 32 teams have come from behind to win the series. That’s a hair above seven percent.
Not great odds, but then again, a dynasty is astonishingly rare.
Golden State's dynasty hangs in the balance heading back to the Bay.