The energy inside Chase Center is weird right now. One night, the Golden State Warriors look like a vintage dynasty, and the next, they’re stumbling over their own feet. If you missed the Tuesday night tilt against the Portland Trail Blazers, you missed a bizarre statistical anomaly that basically sums up the 2025-26 season.
Golden State won 119-97.
On paper? A blowout. In reality? It was a strange, pass-first clinic from a guy we usually expect to hunt 50 points every single time he laces them up.
The Weird Stat Line for Stephen Curry
Let’s talk about Steph. Honestly, his box score from the Portland game looks like a typo. He finished with 7 points.
Yeah, seven.
He shot 2-for-9 from the field. For a guy averaging 28.8 points per game—good for ninth in the NBA—that’s a massive outlier. But here’s the thing: he had 11 assists. He was essentially a 6'2" puppet master, carving up the Blazers' defense without actually scoring. It was his 148th career game with double-digit assists, and it proved that even when his shot is clanking, the gravity is still there.
The Warriors are currently sitting at 21-19. They're third in the Pacific Division, trailing the Lakers and Suns. It’s a precarious spot.
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Steve Kerr has been vocal about the goal being a top-four seed. Currently, they're about 3.5 games back from that. It's doable, but the margin for error is razor-thin, especially with the way the West is stacked this year.
De’Anthony Melton is the X-Factor
While everyone watches Steph and Draymond, the real story lately is De’Anthony Melton.
Coming back from that ACL tear was never going to be easy. We saw him struggle early on, but over the last seven games, he’s been on a tear, averaging 14.1 points while shooting over 44% from deep. Against Portland, he dropped a season-high 23 points off the bench.
Draymond Green basically summed it up after the game, saying the team "thought he was important before he got hurt" and that seeing him back at this level is a "big gift."
Melton’s presence allows Kerr to be more flexible with the rotation. With his minutes restriction slowly lifting—he’s now playing around 22 to 25 minutes—the Warriors finally have that perimeter defender who can also punish teams for over-helping on Curry.
The Jonathan Kuminga Trade Rumors
You can't talk about Golden State Warriors news without mentioning the elephant in the room: Jonathan Kuminga.
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The trade deadline is looming, and Kuminga’s name is everywhere. There’s been a lot of smoke around a potential three-team deal involving the Brooklyn Nets and the Sacramento Kings. The prize? Michael Porter Jr.
The logic is simple: the Warriors need size and elite shooting. MPJ provides both. But the math is a nightmare. To get Porter Jr., the Warriors would likely have to part with Kuminga and Moses Moody just to make the salaries work.
- The Problem: The Nets reportedly don't even want Kuminga.
- The Workaround: Finding a third team—like Sacramento—who does want Kuminga and has assets the Nets actually like.
It’s a high-stakes game of musical chairs. Mike Dunleavy Jr. has a tough choice to make. Does he cash in the "young core" to maximize the final years of the Curry-Green-Butler era? Or does he stand pat and hope this current group finds its rhythm?
Jimmy Butler and the New Core
Wait, did I say Jimmy Butler?
Yes. Sometimes we forget just how much this roster changed over the last year. Having Jimmy "Buckets" in a Warriors jersey is still jarring for some fans. He’s 36 now, but that grit hasn't faded. He put up 16 points and 5 assists against Portland, acting as the secondary playmaker the team desperately needs when Steph is being hounded.
The Warriors' payroll is a monster. They’re paying over $80 million in luxury tax this season. That’s why the rumors about Anthony Davis coming to the Bay—while exciting—are basically fan fiction at this point. Unless the Warriors are willing to move Draymond or Jimmy (which they aren't), the money just doesn't work for AD's $54 million salary.
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What’s Next for the Dubs?
The schedule isn't getting any easier. They’re in the middle of an eight-game homestand, which is usually where you make your move in the standings.
On Thursday, January 15, the New York Knicks come to town. Then it’s Charlotte on Saturday. The real test comes next week with a back-to-back against the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors. If they can sweep this homestand, that top-four seed Steve Kerr is obsessed with starts looking a lot more realistic.
The Warriors lead the league in three-pointers made, averaging 15.8 per game. They live and die by the arc. When guys like Moses Moody—who just passed Mike Dunleavy for 12th in franchise history for threes—are hitting, they're unbeatable. When they aren't? They look like an old team trying to keep up with a younger, faster league.
If you're following the team's trajectory, watch the injury report for Seth Curry. He's been out with a back issue and won't be re-evaluated until at least January 26. His absence has shortened the rotation, forcing more minutes onto Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II.
To keep a close eye on the team's progress, track the plus-minus of the Melton-Curry-Butler lineups over the next four home games. This combination has been their most efficient grouping during this recent stretch, and its success will likely dictate whether the front office pulls the trigger on a Kuminga trade before the February deadline. Focus on the New York Knicks matchup on January 15 as a litmus test for the Warriors' interior defense against a physical Eastern Conference contender.