Rebuilding the Warriors

There was a time when the Warriors made basketball look inevitable. They were poetry in motion framed with threes raining without conscience. Today, they are an echo of their storied past, still competent but unconvincing in their attempts to lean on muscle memory. Even as Stephen Curry continues to defy age, the changes in and around him have made his contributions seem less significant. And the result, needless to say, leaves much to be desired: a 5-5 slate reflective of their mediocrity.

- ANTHONY L. CUAYCONG

It would be easy to dismiss the Warriors’ ostensible lack of distinction as a natural offshoot of the passage of seasons. After all, the National Basketball Association is littered with examples of dynasties not necessarily collapsing but corroding; the fall from grace is slow, even imperceptible, and then clear to all and sundry. At the same time, therein liesa deeper irony: Their system became a template for modern hoops, and naturally inspired an