The Warriors could have pursued a seismic, roster-altering transaction last summer to better their chances of winning a championship. They made no such serious effort.
They could have entered training camp last September stating a desire to snag the No. 1 seed, a priority during their glory years. They never did.
By Jan. 9, when Draymond Green left the lineup on the same day Klay Thompson returned after two surgeries sidelined him for 31 months, the Warriors were reduced to stating one wish that might be considered a plea or a prayer.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Good health.
Green would come back, followed shortly by Andre Iguodala and James Wiseman. A healthy Warriors squad over the final three or four weeks would provide enough comfort and inspire enough confidence to take its chances against any team, at home or on the road, regardless of seeding and no matter how awesome the other roster might be.
“Everybody is feeling like things have turned in a positive direction after the recent slump, or whatever you would want to call it, and getting Draymond back was a big boost,” coach Steve Kerr said before tipoff Wednesday. “But we really want to have everybody back. So, until we get our whole team back together, it’s tough to really figure everything out.”
That wish for has been denied at every turn. From Thompson missing the first 38 games, to Green missing the next 31 to, now, Stephen Curry likely missing the final 12.
Golden State Warriors
That accounts for 81 of 82 regular-season games without the core trio. Entering the playoffs without that group intact – a distinct possibility with Curry sustaining a foot sprain Wednesday night – robs them of a realistic chance to reach the NBA Finals, much less win it.
Getting “our whole team back together” has been something of a rallying cry. Now it’s closer to wistful weep.
In the wake of Curry leaving the game in the second quarter on Wednesday, I asked Kerr if the succession of injuries left him wondering if maybe this team, this season, was “snake bit” or otherwise luckless.
“No,” he said. “We’ve been unbelievably fortunate with the Warriors over this last decade, winning championships and having great players and great people come through here. Adversity hits everybody, at any time, and you just roll with it and keep moving forward.
“Hopefully, Steph will be OK.”
Relatively speaking, Curry will be OK. Early diagnosis indicates he’ll miss several weeks and will not need season-ending surgery. This does not appear to be an injury that will affect him for months or years to come.
The Warriors, however, are not OK. Losing Curry for any length of time makes rolling with the news and continuing to move forward exponentially more difficult.
“It sucks,” Green said. “Sometimes, that is how the cookie crumbles. We have to figure it out and deal with it. It is rough. It sucks for sure.”
RELATED: How Steph's injury impacts Warriors' title dreams, playoff picture
The Warriors can be grateful that they are beyond the toughest part of their schedule. Only four of their remaining 12 games come against elite competition: Miami, Memphis, Phoenix and Utah.
History is not on the side of the Warriors. They typically struggle without Curry, who is the hub of their offensive system. Though Jordan Poole, who will assume the point guard role, and has been tremendous this month, such adjustments as that which is necessary always come with considerable growing pains.
The best the Warriors can hope for is to remain among the top four seeds in the Western Conference and to get Curry back for the playoffs. Both are, at this time, conceivable.