The Bet to Make During the Golden State Warriors Skid
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“Loser mentality” has not been a phrase typically thrown around with the Golden State Warriors. But Steph Curry warned it could creep into the team if its current streak of losses continues.
The Warriors fell 130-119 to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, putting them at 0-8 on the road to begin the season, tying the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls for the longest overall road losing streak by a defending champion.
It’s the first time since 1989-90 the Warriors lost their first eight road games and lost a franchise-worst nine straight road contests to start the season.
"Losing becomes a habit if you don’t fix it," Steph Curry said at the postgame press conference after the Warriors fell to 6-9. "We’ve avoided that for a very long time, in terms of that creeping into the locker room, that loser mentality.
“I think we’re very aware of who we are, what our potential is. The fact is that you can’t stay in this vibe or mode for too long and not really prove that you can be that type of [championship] team.”
Curry has been the only semblance of the dominant Warriors teams that captured titles. He recorded his 11th 50-point game, converting on 17 of 28 shots and 7 of 11 from 3.
Despite Curry’s greatness, it’s the Warriors’ defense that has routinely let them down. Golden State ranks 27th in defensive rating (114.1) and is giving up the second-most points per game at 118.3. It’s the third time this season the Warriors surrendered at least 130 points so far.
"It's a pick-up game out there," Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said. "There's no execution at either end, no certain commitment to the group to get three stops in a row to execute on offense.
"We lack collective grit. We're playing a Drew League game right now.
Klay Thompson has struggled all season, making just 35% of his field goals and 33% from 3-point range. He finished just 6 of 17 from the field on Wednesday for 19 points.
Jordan Poole, the team’s other go-to option on the perimeter, missed all five field goals and tallied just two points.
That left the offensive responsibility to Curry, who finished with his fourth game in his last six outings with at least 39 points.
"I'm scoring great, trying to be efficient and I'm going to keep doing that," Curry said. "But there's a collective kind of mindset around how I need to help everybody get in the right frame of mind to try and win and I'm up for the challenge of figuring that out.
Warriors Betting Odds
The slow start hasn’t made any movement in the Warriors’ title odds. Golden State opened the season at +700, tied with the Milwaukee Bucks and behind the Boston Celtics (+550) on the NBA betting odds championship board list.
At FanDuel and DraftKings, the Warriors remain at +700 in the title chase. Even Golden State’s odds to win the Western Conference title remain nearly at what it was in the preseason at +330.
The biggest movement for Golden State comes in the Pacific Division market. In the preseason the Warriors were +225 to claim the division, but that number has jumped to +330 at DraftKings and +300 at FanDuel.
Bet to Make
Even with the slow start, the Warriors didn’t see a jump in their odds for either the NBA title or the Western Conference. A bettor could wait to see if their slide continues and rely on Thompson to find his form and Golden State to return to the dominant dynasty it has shown in the past. Realistically, the Warriors would be a threat at any seed as long as they made the postseason.
With no value on the current odds and a losing record, the only bet to make in hopes of a Golden State turnaround is to take the Warriors to win the division.
They’re currently 3 ½ games back of the Suns for the lead with 67 games remaining. A return to form could see that deficit quickly erased, especially if the Warriors go on one of their signature winning streaks.
Bet to make: Warriors to win the Pacific Division +330 at DraftKings.
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