Playing on the second night of a back-to-back on the road, the Warriors came out of the gates Sunday in Detroit like they finally woke up and dusted the cobwebs off after a frustrating overtime loss to the Hornets in Charlotte.
The Warriors actually held their opponent to under 30 points for the opening quarter and ended with a 37-29 lead. Led by Jordan Poole's 10 points, eight Warriors scored in the first quarter and 10 were given playing time. They made 12 free throws in the first quarter, the same amount they made all game the previous night.
Momentum then washed away, and aside from an offensive explosion by Poole in the third quarter, the one-win Pistons were the better team and handed the Warriors their second straight loss with a final score of 128-114.
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"There needs to be a sense as a team, as a group, that here's what we're trying to do," Steve Kerr said after the loss. "We're trying to string together offensive possessions and get back defensively. Defend without fouling, and do that over and over and over again.
"Right now, it's just a pickup game."
Coming into Sunday night, the Pistons' lone win was against the Orlando Magic, a young team that figures to be in the lottery of the NBA draft again. Detroit ranked dead last in opponent's points per game (122.8), and the Pistons' offense was 24th in the league in points per game (109.7). The Warriors fell short of reaching that 123 points mark, and easily allowed the Pistons to score their most points this season.
The Warriors now are allowing 122 points per game. They finished last season giving up 105.5 points, which ranked third in the NBA.
Golden State Warriors
Kerr believes that some problems jump out more than others, but it's clear he sees a combination of issues that are spiraling and leading to Golden State's 3-4 start. All season long he has been upset with the Warriors' transition defense. That also is a result of poor shot selection, bad ball movement and being outrebounded.
Watching the other team constantly take free throws also doesn't help. The Warriors attempted 25 free throws Sunday night and made 24. But the Pistons took 38 free throws and made 34. The night before, the Warriors made 12 of their 16 attempts at the charity stripe, and the Hornets doubled that by making 24 of their 31 free throws.
"We got to find a sense of urgency, it's not there and it's showing in the results," Draymond Green said.
So, what needs to happen for the collective unit to grab a hold of that sense of urgency? Kerr, Green and the rest of the bunch wish they had the perfect answer.
"I don't know," Draymond said. "Just have to chip away at the things we have to chip away at. We know the things we have to correct, we just have to go out there and do them."
Before players met with the media and then took off for Miami, Green made sure his voice was heard in the locker room. The consistently inconsistent Warriors have their first streak of the season, and it's not the side of the scoreboard they want to be on. This is their reality now.
If it's the Hornets, the Pistons or a team seen more as a contender in the Heat, the Warriors are going to get the very best of their opponent on a nightly basis. They're the defending champions again, which comes with a huge target on your back.
But it also is new territory for several players.
"Whether you were out there on the floor in the playoff run or the Finals or whatever, we know what that feels like," Steph Curry said. "But everybody has to meet that intensity from the jump and give ourselves some momentum to make teams uncomfortable.
"Communicating, being the first one to attack and set the tone for Warrior defensive championship level basketball on that end of the floor. We haven't done it consistently enough to give ourselves a chance to win games like tonight."
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Curry, Green, Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney and Andre Iguodala are the only Warriors who have defended a championship before in a Golden State jersey. They were without Thompson in Detroit, and Iguodala has yet to play a game this season. The veterans clearly have had enough, and it's time their message is heard loud and clear -- while continuing to take accountability as well.
That starts Tuesday night in South Beach, a place that's never a breeze to play in, especially during a long road trip.