The Golden State Warriors have been one of the more impressive dynasties in recent memory, winning four championships dating back to 2015. However, this season appears to be a whole different story.
Golden State found themselves in rare territory on Monday night against the Sacramento Kings. They notably lost Game 1 on Saturday night, which made Monday’s game incredibly important to come away with.
Unfortunately for Warriors fans, they were turned away yet again by the Kings in Game 2. Sacramento forced 20 turnovers from Golden State to help them come away with a 114-106 victory.
"LIGHT THE BEAM! WHAT A SCENE, IN SACRAMENTO!"- Ian Eagle 🏀🎙️ pic.twitter.com/cw00ATtFYe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 18, 2023
This loss for Golden State puts them in a situation that they have never faced before with their current core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Steve Kerr at the helm.
The loss puts them down 0-2 in the series, which is the first time that this current core has ever trailed by this amount in any series.
This current Golden State Warriors core–Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr–had NEVER trailed 0-2 in an NBA Playoff series…
…until facing the Sacramento Kings. pic.twitter.com/vzVl8K0nIo
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) April 18, 2023
Many took to social media to share their concerns for the defending NBA champions after their early struggles to Sacramento in this series.
WARRIORS GO DOWN 2-0 FOR FIRST TIME IN STEPH CURRY ERA 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DWcXOKMrLH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 18, 2023
Unfamiliar territory for the Steve Kerr and the Warriors 👀 pic.twitter.com/Xm500vsN7v
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 18, 2023
Steve Kerr’s Warriors have never been down 2-0 in a series.
Until they met the Kings.
Light. The. Beam. pic.twitter.com/DfSaSIvHfq
— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) April 18, 2023
For the first time in championship era, the Warriors are down 0-2.
We're going to see something we've never seen before in this series.
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) April 18, 2023
Let’s face it — the Warriors probably weren’t winning anything called the Draymond Stomp Game.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 18, 2023
Warriors players clearly know that they now face an obsticle that they have not previously faced before. Draymond Green discussed being down 0-2 in the series after the game, saying that he is “excited” for a “new challenge”.
“That’s exciting, right?,” Green said via C.J. Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle. “A new challenge… I was thinking after the game that this is something we haven’t seen yet.”
Green on the Warriors being down 0-2: "That's exciting, right? A new challenge… I was thinking after the game that this is something we haven't seen yet."
— C.J. Holmes (@CjHolmes22) April 18, 2023
While things may look bleak at the moment for some Warriors fans, there are some positives in their favor ahead of Game 3. They will be returning home for at least the next two games of the series.
Winning both of those games will be absolutely crucial if they want to keep their hopes of repeating as NBA Champions alive.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.