The Golden State Warriors' problem

Of late, many talking heads and other pundits, in their never-ending zeal to create a story if a real one isn't available, have been asking --- what's wrong with the Golden State Warriors?

Of course, this intensified when they were blown out on their own court by Lebron James and the LA Lakers on Christmas. I'll get back to that.

But what's really ailing the Dubs?

Two things. The most obvious is their best player, one Steph Curry, has been rehabbing an injury lately. Take Tom Brady away from the Patriots and how good do you think they'd be?

Yet the other is much more subtle.

I would submit they're just bored, merely going through the motions, for now.

They're fresh off another world championship, had their parade, got their rings, etc. After a few months of R & R, what's to look forward to?

Just another long season. Eighty two games worth, with all the practices, meetings, film sessions, and a bazillion miles of air travel along the way to stay in hotels far away from home and play in front of hostile crowds. It's gotta get old, regardless of how much money they make -- which is ridiculous -- but that's a story for another day.

But wait a second. What do they mean they're "underachieving"?

Aren't they comfortably leading their division almost half way through the 2018 season? And BTW, last time I looked they had the best record in the entire Western Conference of the NBA.

Some have claimed that a team can't have a magical "switch" to turn on and off whenever they feel like it, making the difference between stellar play and just mediocre.

Yours truly would disagree, and so did Warrior Draymond Green in a recent Sports Illustrated article. They indeed appear to possess that switch.

Let's not forget that last year, in the semi-finals of the playoffs, going up against the Houston Rockets for the Western Conference conference title and another trip to the Finals, the Dubs found themselves down 3-1 in that series. With two of the remaining three games to be played in Houston. We all know what happened They flipped the switch at the last second, came roaring back to eliminate the Rockets and blistered the above mentioned James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals. Skunked them.

So basically, the Dubs have nothing to prove, especially during the regular season. Lose games they likely could have won? No big deal. No sane person would doubt they're going to make the playoffs again. They could do that almost blindfolded. So why should they go the proverbial "balls to the wall" with their hair on fire until the games really matter?

Relax, scribes and yappy heads. These guys will be just fine when the heat gets turned up again in another four months or so. They KNOW they can do it. Been there, done that.

Conversely, as mentioned above, James and the Lakers have something to prove, every game. That they can be competitive. So they're playing their tails off, night in and night out. That would easily explain how they dominated the Warriors in a game most (especially the Warriors) will forget about in a few days, if they haven't forgotten already.

Yet will the Lakers be gassed when the playoffs roll around, if they continue to play all-out the entire regular season? Maybe. We'll see. But even if they make the playoffs, no given despite their current pretty good record, no way in hell would they compete with the Dubs in a playoff series, when the switch has officially been turned to the "on" position again.

Bottom line, methinks the Dubs are just bored, for now.

But barring a slew of injuries, look out when June rolls around. It's still the same cast of characters.