The Atlanta Hawks pulled off a miracle, but tension mounts for the Warriors as they hit the second bump within a week. Steve Kerr’s men hit the road without Stephen Curry, only to realize that his absence would be more costly than they had anticipated. Their first stop was Atlanta, where they had every intention of leaving with a win. But from the opening quarter, the Hawks showed no mercy. The home team came out hot. No matter how hard the Warriors pushed, they couldn’t close the widening gap. Clearly, the Warriors were outmatched and unable to recover from the early deficit. And by the end of the night, the Warriors were sinking to a 124-115 defeat. But Steve Kerr knows that they can’t afford to lose games at this stage. So, the head coach finally addressed the big problem within the team.

When Kerr walked into the press conference after the game, his disappointment showed. “40 points in the first quarter,” he said, still in disbelief. “We were swimming upstream the rest of the way, and I love the way the guys fought after that. But it was a layup line in the first quarter.” Highlighting the main issue, he continued, “Transition defense was awful. Give them credit, they were ready, they came out smoking hot, and, but at halftime, I think they had 23 assists and three turnovers, and we didn’t impact the game defensively until it was far too late.”

The Warriors basically handed the Hawks a 40-point gift in the first quarter, letting them build an early lead with little resistance. With the defense hardly showing up, the game quickly slipped out of control, leaving the offense to pick up the pieces. Kerr admitted that despite their sloppy start, the team fought to make a comeback, but it felt like trying to swim upstream.

The Warriors’ struggles gave the Hawks an advantage, and they made sure to maintain the upper hand in the game. They displayed great chemistry, and took care of the ball, while the Warriors couldn’t quite find their rhythm, especially on the defensive end. That’s probably something Steve Kerr will be focusing on in the upcoming games since Curry won’t be joining the team on the trip. With at least five games to play without him, a massive change is needed. And that’s exactly what Draymond Green pointed out.

Draymond Green finds himself on the same page as Steve Kerr

With Stephen Curry out of the picture for now, Draymond Green is the only Warriors veteran on the team. He was supposed to step up and fill the big shoes of the 37-year-old, but even he couldn’t make an impact with his 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in the game. With frustration mounting, Green chose to let it out during the presser.

“When you’re in the position we’re in, we got a chance to compete for something,” Dray told the media. “11 games left, with everything to play for, you shouldn’t have a loss like this. It’s too much on the line, got to win the games you’re supposed to win. Obviously, Steph’s out, still a game we should win, so it’s a terrible loss.” The 4x champion further added, “Got to… come out, play defensively, come out and play hard.”

So, he agrees with Steve Kerr’s point that they need to focus on better defense and effort in the upcoming games. It took a lot for them to climb to the 6th seed in the West. They wouldn’t want to drop from that, otherwise, their postseason chances will be more challenging.

Their next stop is Miami. And that’s a game they must win. Not just for themselves, but for Jimmy Butler, given his history with his former team. Now, it all comes down to whether the Warriors can step up their defense, because although the Heat is struggling, underestimating them wouldn’t be wise.