Let this latest debacle be a brutal wake-up call for the Golden State Warriors—one they’ve ignored far too many times, season after season: in the NBA, there are no gimmies. Every team demands your full fury, or you’ll get burned. Yet again, the Dubs learned this the hard way in a humiliating 114-109 collapse against the Indiana Pacers, a squad ravaged by injuries and scraping the bottom of the barrel. Missing five starters? Check. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back after getting smoked by Atlanta? Double check. The Pacers even invoked a hardship exception to sign Jeremiah Robinson-Earl just to field a team. But none of that mattered—Indiana gutted out the win, exposing the Warriors’ glaring lack of heart.
Even without studs like Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin, and TJ McConnell, the Pacers rose up. Pascal Siakam dropped 27 points with 5 boards and 3 dimes, Aaron Nesmith exploded for 31-6-1, and two-way sensation Quenton Jackson torched with 25-6-10. Meanwhile, Golden State’s mostly healthy roster sleepwalked through the night. The biggest shocker? Steph Curry, the GOAT shooter, endured a nightmare: 24 points on a dismal 8-of-23 from the field (4-of-16 from deep), coughing up 5 turnovers, and a pathetic 47.6% True Shooting. In Curry’s 29 minutes, the Warriors got outscored by a staggering 21 points. Ouch.
The Pacers dialed up relentless ball pressure, often starting full-court, and Curry—usually a pressure-proof wizard—crumbled. Jackson hounded him relentlessly, turning Steph’s handle into a liability. We’ve seen Curry shred these schemes before, but his recent butterfingers have flipped the script: instead of punishing foes with pace, the Warriors are self-destructing with turnovers. It’s not the Curry we’re used to, and it’s costing them big.
Sure, single-game plus-minus isn’t gospel, but on this night, it screamed truth: the Warriors were better with their superstar sidelined. A bizarre flip-flop that’s probably a one-off, but damn, it stings to witness. Right behind Curry in the minus column? Jonathan Kuminga, where Golden State got torched by 20 in his 32 minutes. Not all on JK—much overlapped with Curry’s woes, and Kuminga (alongside Jimmy Butler) was one of the few providing rim pressure on a team that’s otherwise allergic to attacking the basket.
That said, Kuminga’s earned his stripes this season, patching holes in the Warriors’ leaky lineup. But growth demands accountability. His point-of-attack defense? Spotty at best, like on this Siakam straight-line drive where positioning went AWOL. It’s forgivable amid his hot streak, but ignoring costly slips does no one favors—especially when one might’ve sealed the loss.
Postgame, Steve Kerr pivoted from blasting switches (their Achilles’ heel last outing) to praising them here. Instead, he torched rebounding, fouling, and sloppy execution as the villains. Fair enough, but zoom in on this late-game gem: a clean Kuminga-Curry switch leaves Steph isolated on Siakam—not ideal. Kuminga slides over to help at the nail, smart move. Siakam kicks to Jackson on the wing… and then? Kuminga drifts like a lost soul, no Draymond-level roaming here. Was it miscommunication? A failed scram switch? Blame game aside, the disconnect in crunch time reeks of a team unplugged.
Worse, this meltdown erased an 11-point lead with 5:46 left, coughing up a 21-5 Pacers run. Seven games in, after hype wins over the Lakers, Nuggets, and Clippers, the Warriors are spiraling. Blame the grueling schedule—seven tilts in 12 nights, two back-to-backs down, another looming? Legs are heavy, especially for an aging core. But excuses won’t cut it if they’re chasing contender status.
Beating these depleted Pacers or a Giannis-less Bucks wouldn’t vault them to elite, but true alphas devour the weak. Right now, these Warriors look toothless, far from the West’s cream. To reclaim their soul—fire, pride, answers—they’ve got work to do. Fast. Or this rut becomes a grave.