Warriors in need of soul searching after third straight loss

Given their recent streak of loses, it would seem that not all is well with the Golden State Warriors. Whether it's Steph Curry's apparent slump or an inability to close out games, the Warriors have definitely got to do some soul searching.

The Golden State Warriors lost...again

February has not been kind to the Golden State Warriors. Indeed, after limping through their worst stretch of the season the Warriors entered the All-Star break with the hope of turning things around once it was over. Unfortunately that has not been the case, in fact one could say that things got worse. On Tuesday night the Warriors were more or less mauled by the Minnesota Timberwolves who went on to score the most points by an opponent this season in a 129-114 win.

With that, the Warriors have now lost three of their last four games and are just barely holding to second place in the Western Conference with a half game advantage on the Memphis Grizzlies. What's even worse is that compare to the other two losses where they essentially collapsed after maintaining large leads over the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks, this most recent loss to the Timberwolves was a showcase in a lack of fight and general cohesion. "This was the first time I sensed there was a breakdown in our connection, and that has to be an exception rather than a rule," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "So that's the most important thing for me looking ahead."

What went wrong for the Warriors?

In the previous two losses to Denver and Dallas, Kerr explained that he did in fact like the way his team played right up until the 4th quarter, however, this time around the Warriors head coach admitted that the energy and defense which was on show in those games was completely missing. "[I saw it] all over the place," said Kerr on the lack of connectivity against the Timberwolves. "It's not just a tangible thing as much as it is just a feeling and an energy - a collective spirit. I didn't like the energy or the spirit tonight."

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Though Kerr was reluctant to point to a specific thing, that was not so much the case when it came to Steph Curry's comments. The Warriors star was quite candid about where he believes the problem lies. "We have a lot of different rotations and lineups and we try to make adjustments on the fly," Curry said. "We have to be more in sync as a five-man unit."

The Warriors are missing key players

After their last loss, Kerr was firm in stance that absent players is not an excuse. That being said, when you can't count on the services of the likes of Draymond Green who has missed some 24 games and Klay Thompson who is yet to be a fixture in the team having only recently returned, things get a little tougher. There is also Andre Iguodala who has missed 15 of the past sixteen games. Last but not least there is Moses Moody, who started in place of Thompson on Tuesday. Moody was forced to leave the game with a left eye contusion, which Kerr disclosed is now "swollen shut."

The end result of all of these bumps in the road is that the Warriors have faced an uphill battle where their roster and it's rotation are concerned. That of course has led to the aforementioned lack of cohesion and not to mention that quite frankly they are now without two of their highest IQ players. "We've had a lot of shuffling," Curry said. "It's not an excuse for how we're playing, but we are built as a full team. And until we get that, I'm not sure if we'll see our full ceiling, but we have to do the little things in the meantime to keep building confidence."

Where to now for the Golden State Warriors?

The first order of concern will clearly be the health of their players. As things stand, Thompson is expected to rejoin the team in Dallas and may even seen minutes against Mavericks on Thursday having returned from a general illness. Green is will also join the team, however, according to reports from the team, there is no set date for his return from a back injury. Where Iguodala is concerned, it is understood that he's currently with the team, but is not expected to play.

The Warriors for their part are trying to focus long term. That's to say rather focusing on the the current slump, they prefer to highlight the positives, such as the increased playing time for younger players like Jonathan Kuminga and the previously mentioned Moody. "I'm just trying to stay patient in terms of where we are in the season and what we are trying to do in a month and a half," Curry said. Head coach Kerr echoed similar sentiments saying, "We just have to make sure when we have a night like tonight where we get a little scattered, we've got to work to return to home base and remember what the goal is."