LOS ANGELES — Do you remember the pure feeling of euphoria when the Warriors won the 2015 title? Do you remember how invincible you felt when the Warriors acquired Kevin Durant on the Fourth of July and won the next two championships? Do you remember the sense of redemption you felt when the Warriors were back on top of the world last year?
Do you remember the Dubs Dynasty?
We might have to start speaking about it in the past tense. With Friday's disheartening 122-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the second round, the Warriors' season came to an end.
"There's no regrets," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "But losing sucks. It just does."
With the defeat, perhaps we can start closing the door on the dynasty.
No one knows what the future holds for the organization, but Draymond Green has a player option for 2023-24 and he's not guaranteed to come back. President of basketball operations/general manager Bob Myers isn't under contract for next year. Even Jordan Poole's name has surfaced as a possible trade chip this summer.
It's entirely possible the entire gang stays together and the Warriors run it back next season. But if any of those guys are gone next fall -- especially Draymond and Myers -- it won't be the same.
Listening to Draymond, he sounds like a guy who wants to keep riding with his guys Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
"Obviously, I have an opt-out, everybody knows about that," Draymond said. "I'm aware of that. As I've told you guys, I wanna be a Warrior for the rest of my life. I wanna ride out with the same dudes I rode in with."
Throughout this entire run of dominance, which has included four titles and six NBA Finals trips in the past nine seasons since coach Steve Kerr took over, LeBron James was the archnemesis. James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to four straight NBA Finals appearances from 2015-18, meeting the Warriors each season for a chance to hoist the trophy. Perhaps it was fitting that LeBron was the undertaker for the Warriors' burial on Friday.
Ultimately, the Warriors were doomed by a futile first quarter. Despite the immense stakes of the contest, Golden State's offensive execution was nowhere to be found. The Warriors went just 4-of-19 from the field to begin the game while falling in an early 27-10 hole. Spurred by a nice spurt from Donte DiVincenzo off the bench, the Warriors cut the deficit to four points in the second quarter but never creeped closer the rest of the way.
"We had some open looks early," Kerr said. "To me, we were in a little bit of a rush. We were forcing the issue in the first quarter and missed a lot of open ones that maybe could have gotten us into a better rhythm."
While the Lakers racked up transition buckets, the Warriors simply couldn't hit their open looks, as the lead hovered around 15-20 for the bulk of the second half.
Despite his reputation for being a Game 6 maestro, Klay was the poster boy of the Warriors' shooting struggles Friday night. He clearly wanted to live up to his Game 6 Klay moniker and put on a show after tough games in L.A. earlier this series, but the shots never fell. Thompson ended the night 3-of-19 from the floor and 2-of-12 from 3-point land for eight points.
"I don't think I was pressing, I just think shots didn't fall," Klay said. "Even tonight, I got so many great looks. That's why it hurts. Especially early, a lot wide open looks. I don't know if that's fatigue, mental fatigue or shooting it short. It's not the end of the road for me. I still know I have greatness ahead of me."
Steph tried to put the Warriors on his back, like he's done for most of the postseason, but even he had a rough shooting night (11-of-28). Another year of his prime won't end in a championship.
For the first time in 28 playoff series with Steph, Draymond and Klay, they didn't win a road game. The Warriors were finally beat by a Western Conference Foe for the first time in 20 tries under Kerr.
"You're disappointed," Steph said. "Kinda shellshocked that it's over. You pour so much into every season, but coming off of last year and trying to defend and give ourselves a chance to keep advancing. It's a tough way for the season to end. It's unfamiliar territory, but I'm proud of the fight that we had."
Steph is 35, while Klay is 33. They just played 13 games in 28 days during the playoffs, as the every-other-day schedule may have finally caught up with the Warriors championship veterans.
"Playing every other day for the last few weeks," Kerr said, "it's hard to sit here and claim that didn't affect Steph and Klay's jumpers in these last few games. Maybe a little bit of fatigue and some great defense from the Lakers."
Andrew Wiggins looked limited by his rib injury and couldn't attack like he did in Game 5. Draymond was an emotional sparkplug, got a technical and Dennis Schroder ejected in the second half, but didn't have the same on-court impact he did on Wednesday.
In all, the Warriors shot just 37.9 percent from the field and 27.1 from 3-point land. An absolute stinker on the road. Truth be told, this was probably the most appropriate way for the Warriors to end their season, as they finally dug themselves into a hole they couldn't escape. All those road troubles caught up to 'em in the end.
The mood was good with the Warriors before the game. They overcame an 0-2 deficit last series, but the 3-1 hill was too much to climb.
Now, we await the fate of Draymond, Bob and Poole. And the Dubs Dynasty at large. For all we know, the crew will run it back next year for a fifth ring, but it's time to confront the reality that a hangover from a raucous nine-year binge could be on the horizon.
"I think it's probably too raw right now to think about," Kerr said of the Warriors' future. "The one thing I will say is that Draymond, Klay, Steph -- our core guys -- they've got plenty left to offer. There's still plenty in the tank."
