The Warriors lost 115-108 in Houston on Wednesday night, and the eight-game winning streak that had this team feeling bulletproof is dead. Anyone turning that into a feel-good story needs to explain why losing is suddenly worth applauding.
There's a real case for feeling okay about it. Golden State walked into Toyota Center already missing Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II and Brandon Williams, four rotation players gone before the opening tip. Six minutes in, Steph Curry grabbed at his side after a made three and didn't come back. Steve Kerr called the concern level high, and Curry later left for an MRI. That's five key absences in one night, and the Warriors still pushed the Rockets, who improved to 9-3, down to a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg had 25 points and 10 rebounds. Brandin Podziemski added 22, including a four-point play during the rally. The bench didn't fold.
But look at what that performance actually proves. This roster is one bad week away from being completely exposed, and this was that week. An 8-0 run of health and good fortune built a streak that always depended on nobody important getting hurt. Five absences hit at once, and the margin for error vanished. It took a career night from a rookie just to make this respectable instead of a blowout. This team survived on fumes, and Houston shut the door late to put it away.
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RatingThe anger about celebrating a close loss is fair, but point it at the right target. Lendeborg and Podziemski did everything that could reasonably be asked of them. Kerr can't conjure healthy bodies out of a depth chart that was already stretched before Curry went down. The real target is the front office, which built this roster assuming everyone would stay healthy and left nothing behind the stars but a rookie and a guard who had to carry far more than his role allows. That's a structural problem, and it was hiding behind a winning streak until one night in Houston tore the cover off it.
If Curry's absence carries into the next few games, the bench mob keeps playing with house money, and nobody should be shocked when the results get uglier before they get better. This loss ended a streak and exposed how thin the roster really is. The front office needs to answer that, soon.
