The defending champs are off to a very shaky start to the NBA season. Through 15 games, the Golden State Warriors have gone an extremely disappointing 6-9. Last season the Warriors finished with a 53-29 record and they went on to win the NBA finals. With pretty much everyone deciding to come back in the offseason, there was plenty of reason for optimism and high expectations heading into the season. So far, these high expectations have not been met.

The Warriors were experiencing issues before the season even started. A video from a preseason Golden State practice arose displaying a physical altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole. The Warriors took a lot of heat in the media for this fight as questions and controversy piled up. There has been no recurrence of an issue like this during the season, but it does raise the question whether or not this situation has affected the Warriors’ season.

Steph Curry is still doing Steph Curry things. Curry is second in the league in scoring, 32.8 points per game, and he is maintaining a +/- of +63. Despite the great output night in and night out from Curry, his supporting cast is not enjoying the same success, thus holding the team back. Fellow splash brother, Klay Thompson, is arguably having the worst season of his career. He is shooting 35% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc, both career lows. Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green have also decreased in production from last season.

The young players are struggling as well. There was a lot of hype for Jordan Poole going into the season, but he has been extremely disappointing this year along with the other young guys. His numbers are down from last season including a +/- of -66. It will be interesting to see if Curry’s supporting cast can turn it around and lead the Warriors to another championship push.