Back in December, we wrote about how much the Warriors were struggling to win on the road to start the season.
Four months later, nothing has changed.
The Warriors have been dominant in Golden State this season, winning 29 of their 36 games played at the Chase Center. Not only does that give them one of the best home records in the NBA, but it's almost the exact opposite of how they've fared when they've hit the road (8-29).
What's going on with the Warriors? Let's take a closer look.
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Why the Warriors can't win on the road
The stats point to the Warriors being an average offensive team and an elite defensive team on their homecourt. They've still been an average team offensively on the road, but their defense falls off a cliff.
In giving up an average of 119.7 points per 100 possessions, only the Spurs (120.9) and Rockets (121.2) — two teams hoping to win the NBA Draft Lottery, not looking to compete for a championship like Golden State — have a worse defensive rating than the Warriors in away games.
"The biggest thing we see is just we're so much better defensively at home," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said earlier in the month. "The numbers show that. I can't tell you exactly why, but we know that the answer to all of this is in our defense. You can't expect to trade baskets on the road and go win a game. You gotta get stops.
"This team has always been strong defensively and we've got to figure out a way to make that defense travel."
Prior to Monday's win over the Rockets, the Warriors had given up at least 110 points in 36 straight road games. According to ESPN Stats & Information, that's the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history.
| Location | Offensive rating | Defensive rating | Net rating |
| Home | 115.7 | 108.0 | 7.7 |
| Road | 112.9 | 119.7 | -6.7 |
The reason for their defensive dropoff? There are a few — they don't rebound quite as well, they turn the ball over a bit more, they give up a few more points in the paint — but 3-point shooting stands out the most.
At home, the Warriors have held teams to 32.4 percent shooting from the perimeter. That's the stingiest mark in the league. On the road, opponents have connected on 40.6 percent of their 3-point attempts, putting the Warriors ahead of only the Spurs (41.3 percent) for the worst mark in the league.
There's a lot of luck and unluckiness involved in those numbers, but possessions like the one below, where Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman draws two defenders on a cut to the basket and kicks it out to David Roddy for a wide-open 3, stick out.
As The Ringer's Zach Kram pointed out, some of Golden State's most important players haven't been as available on the road as they have at home this season. Less Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins has meant more Jonathan Kuminga, Anthony Lamb, Moses Moody and Ty Jerome.
Kuminga has been a bright spot for the Warriors, but Lamb, Moody and Jerome aren't as experienced as some of the players who were at the end of the roster last season. That still doesn't explain why the gap between how opponents shoot against the Warriors at home and away is as large as it is, but it could be a factor.
Another factor could be that the Warriors simply aren't as locked in on the road.
"Quite frankly, I think, and I've said this before, I think winning on the road requires an incredible amount of mental strength and it's not just one guy whose mental strength or two guys or a few guys," Green said. "It's a collective mental strength as a team and quite frankly, it just seems that we have not reached that as a team, to be as great as we are at home."
MORE: Chris Paul reacts to Stephen Curry's 'This ain't 2014 no more' trash talk
Warriors player stats home vs. away
While the defense has been Golden State's biggest issue on the road, there are some differences with how the Warriors have played offensively.
Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole's numbers barely change, but Thompson and Wiggins have averaged more points on better efficiency at home this season. Donte DiVincenzo has also been a more reliable shooter in Golden State, connecting on 43.4 percent of his 3-point attempts at home compared to 36.3 percent on the road.
| Player | Home PPG | Home FG% | Road PPG | Road FG% |
| Stephen Curry | 28.9 | 50.5 | 30.5 | 49.3 |
| Klay Thompson | 24.8 | 44.9 | 18.9 | 42.0 |
| Draymond Green | 7.6 | 48.3 | 9.3 | 57.6 |
| Andrew Wiggins | 18.6 | 50.9 | 15.6 | 43.3 |
| Jordan Poole | 20.1 | 42.5 | 20.3 | 42.6 |
| Kevon Looney | 7.4 | 63.8 | 7.1 | 64.7 |
| Donte DiVincenzo | 9.1 | 45.8 | 9.6 | 39.0 |
| Jonathan Kuminga | 8.8 | 55.4 | 10.4 | 47.6 |
The Warriors are, of course, running out of time to figure out their biggest problem. There's a chance they won't have homecourt advantage in any playoff series if they manage to avoid the Play-In Tournament, which still isn't a guarantee.
Regardless of which seed they end up with, the road to another championship sure won't be easy.
