Everyone anticipated that with Steph Curry out due to an ankle injury, the Golden State Warriors would regress. But even those diminished expectations weren’t an acceptable response to Saturday night’s 126-113 loss to the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Centre. After falling to the poorest club in the Western Conference, the Dubs’ record dropped to 33-30 for the year.

Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Warriors, decided to start Chris Paul in place of Klay Thompson. a decision that generated a lot of online discussion among Warriors supporters. In Curry’s absence, Thompson’s attacking intensity appears to be even more important for the Warriors, and a backcourt of Paul and Podziemski poses some serious defensive vulnerabilities.

On Saturday, Thompson was possibly the best player for the Warriors. The only impressive number from his final line was his team-high 27 points, but Thompson was one of the few Warriors who appeared to be playing with constant effort the entire time. Many other Dubs appeared sluggish throughout the game, either due to the matchup with the Spurs or the blow to morale after Curry’s injury.

Jonathan Kuminga scored well in the second half following a sluggish start. His 26 points on 17 field goal attempts, though, were just a bit too little, too late. The offence did not cause the Warriors to lose. On the other end of the floor, it was a succession of mistakes.

Only early in the second quarter did the Spurs start to outscore the Warriors, after leading for the whole of the first. Although box score statistics can be misleading, Monday’s side-by-side data provide context for the action. Throughout the contest, the Spurs went 17-for-33 from three point range.

That % would seem unsustainable, given the Spurs are among the league’s worst three-point shooting teams; yet, the Dubs might have been the victim of some unfortunate circumstances. But to attribute all of their accomplishment to pure luck would be erroneous. The Warriors’ defence was dreadful, especially when it came to the perimeter. During the whole game, Spurs shooters were frequently left wide open from beyond the arc.

After taking a day off, the Warriors will head to San Antonio on Monday night to play their rematch in front of the Spurs’ home floor. Curry will not be re-evaluated until Tuesday, according to a Dubs press release, thus Golden State will have to find a way to survive without their star player for at least one more game.