The Golden State Warriors entered this season with championship aspirations, but as the calendar flipped and the grind of the regular season wore on, inconsistency has been the recurring theme. A big part of that?
Injuries. They’ve hit the Warriors hard - and now, they’ve hit again.
Just days after Jimmy Butler went down with a season-ending ACL tear, the Warriors are navigating life without their franchise cornerstone, Stephen Curry. While Curry has avoided a similar long-term fate - no ACL tear here - his current injury has still sidelined him for several games. And for a team already struggling to find rhythm, losing their offensive engine has only added to the turbulence.
Heading into a marquee matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, all eyes are on how the Warriors adapt without Steph. Lakers head coach JJ Redick offered a candid assessment of Golden State’s approach in Curry’s absence - and his take might surprise you.
“It’s weird to say this, but I don’t necessarily think the play style has changed all that much [without Steph Curry],” Redick said. “They’re running a lot of the same stuff.”
That’s a telling observation from a coach who’s preparing to face them. Even without Curry’s gravity warping defenses and his off-ball movement creating chaos, the Warriors are sticking to their identity.
The ball movement, the split cuts, the motion - it’s all still there. But without Curry’s elite shot-making and decision-making, the execution just hasn’t had the same bite.
Redick and the Lakers will look to take advantage of that tonight. With playoff positioning tightening up, every win counts, and beating a Curry-less Warriors team is an opportunity the Lakers can’t afford to waste. Momentum is everything at this stage of the season.
But while the Warriors are dealing with their own challenges, the Lakers have been facing a different kind of pressure - the swirling narrative around LeBron James. At 41, and with rumors about a potential departure from L.A., some critics have begun to question whether the King still has it.
Redick, for one, isn’t having it.
“His competitive stamina is off the charts,” Redick said of LeBron. “It’s actually unfortunate how much this guy puts into it and how much he cares, and the way certain people talk about him.
It’s crazy. Come be around him every day and see how much this guy cares.
It’s off the charts.”
That’s not just coach-speak - it’s a window into what LeBron still brings behind the scenes. While the outside noise grows louder, Redick is pulling back the curtain on a player who remains as locked in as ever.
Whether it’s film study, conditioning, or simply leading by example, LeBron’s commitment hasn’t wavered. And that kind of presence - especially in the thick of a playoff push - can be just as valuable as what happens on the court.
So as the Lakers and Warriors square off tonight, both teams are navigating uncertainty. Golden State is trying to hold the line without its superstar. The Lakers, meanwhile, are leaning on theirs - and hoping that belief, from within the locker room, can help quiet the outside noise.
One thing’s for sure: the stakes are rising, and the margin for error is shrinking.