“Not a Playoff Team, At All”: Stephen Curry’s Middling Warriors Have Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce Feeling Pessimistic About Their Season

The Golden State Warriors have not been in the best of forms this season. The Dubs stand 11th in the Western Conference with a 9-11 record. Things look quite abysmal for the Warriors, especially after their departure from the Play-In Tournament.

This sudden dip in the Warriors’ form has concerned several experts, including Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. In a recent episode of the Ticket and The Truth podcast, KG and Pierce discussed the current state of the Golden State Warriors, assessing their chances of being a playoff-contending team this season.

As per the Ticket & The Truth’s ‘Worry Scale,’ Paul Pierce is worried 8/10 over the Warriors’ current form, which as per the scale’s metrics is a ‘Major Issue.’ Pierce noted how the expected young core of Jordan Poole, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Andrew Wiggins were expected to be the support system for the Dubs in the post-2022 Championship era. However, that didn’t pan out as expected, as the Warriors ended up trading Wiseman and Poole earlier this year.

Furthermore, Pierce and Garnett talked about Andrew Wiggins’ failure to be a successful supporting player to take the load off of Klay Thompson. Wiggins was expected to guard other top players like Luka Doncic and Devin Bookers as a defensive player during such matchups.

Given his current athletic abilities and age, Pierce had expected the 28-year-old to carry the mantle from Klay Thompson. However, expressing his disappointment on the 2022 NBA All-Star not stepping up, Pierce remarked, “Wiggins is supposed to be giving you what Klay giving you now. So Klay can kind of take a step back and be like the third wheel.” 

How worried should Warriors fans be?@KevinGarnett5KG and @paulpierce34 think it’s time for a trade.

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— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) December 4, 2023

Assessing these issues with the Dubs, KG and Pierce concluded that the Warriors must make some crucial trades to save the season. Though Stephen Curry is stepping up every game with a 29.1 PPG and 4.7 APG average, the burden is too heavy for the 2x MVP to carry as things stand right now.

The former Celtics duo still have faith in the Warriors building a championship core around the Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green trio. However, adding their concern for the same, Pierce commented, “I still believe in Steph. I believe in Draymond, that you can still build around them if you put the right pieces-that they can win a championship. But you gotta make some moves. As currently constructed, this team is barely a playoff team.” 

“This team is not a playoff team at all,” Garnett interjected Pierce. He even refused to deem the Dubs a play-in team as well.

Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are struggling to find their pace this season

The start of the 2023-24 season has not been particularly kind for Warriors stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. In the case of Klay Thompson, the Splash brother doesn’t seem like his usual self on the floor. Thompson’s performance has taken a major step back this season, with the star averaging only 15.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists from 40% field goal percentage this season.

On the other hand, Draymond Green also lacks consistency, given his aggressive defensive tactics and behavior on the court. Green came under scrutiny for choking out Rudy Gobert during a regular season game, which earned him an immediate ejection and a 5-game suspension. Green’s aggressive tactics were once again in the forefront after his defensive ‘tackle’ on Terance Mann in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

As of now, Stephen Curry has been the only player to maintain top form consistently through this season. As Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce both assess, the Dubs need to make some serious changes to extend their contention chances for the playoffs and the NBA championship.