In a year when a portion of the hardwood intelligentsia predicted that the Golden State Warriors would be able to compete for an NBA championship, the team instead finds itself buried in mediocrity.

As of this writing, the squad is one game under.500, with nearly a quarter of the 2023-24 season already completed. Recent performances, however, have given Stephen Curry and his team newfound optimism.

The Warriors are officially on a three-game winning run after defeating the East-leading Boston Celtics in overtime on Tuesday, with winnable matchups against the Portland Trail Blazers and Jordan Poole’s Washington Wizards on the horizon just before Christmas.

Junior Splash Bro Klay Thompson’s skill has been a major role in Golden State’s recent success. Over the last four games, the struggling shooter has averaged a team-high 26.5 points while connecting on more than half of his shot attempts.

Thompson’s mini-resurgence, however, will not be enough to right the ship in what has been a rocky season in the Bay Area.

This season, the Warriors have fallen short in key categories.

Andrew Wiggins’ difficulties have been more severe than Thompson’s.

The Warriors gave the NBA world solid reason to anticipate that they’d be a problem for the rest of the league in the early going, winning six of their first eight games despite a road-heavy schedule. They have, however, become the league’s hot-mess express since then.

Following their 6-2 start, the Warriors have ranked in the lowest tier in multiple categories, indicating that their issues are far more widespread than just shooting struggles.

Meanwhile, he has a team-worst defensive rating of 119.4 in 2023-24, down from 110.9 last season.

Golden State must also deal with the Draymond Green problem. Green is presently suspended indefinitely and attending counseling after hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurki during a game earlier this season. Given his importance to the club on both sides of the court, the Warriors may struggle to overcome an extended absence.

And, for all of his efforts directing traffic in the second unit, Chris Paul has been a sub-40 percent shooter this season.