Don’t blame the three veterans in the starting lineup. Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green each played imperfect games Tuesday night, but they surely did enough to give the Warriors a reasonable chance at a victory that would have pushed their win streak to four games.
Several factors contributed to Golden State’s 121-113 loss to the Orlando Magic, but the most disappointing was the bench production. Or lack of it.
Orlando was without star forward Paolo Banchero, who averages 21.7 points per game. Yet he was not missed, as a 21-year-old wing named Anthony Black came off the Magic bench to torch the Warriors with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He played 33 minutes and posted a team-best plus-18.
Orlando’s bench piled up 35 points, while Golden State’s reserves totaled 22 points on 8-of-23 shooting, including 2 of 10 from deep.
Folks, a minus-13 bench output is not a winning formula – particularly for a team that starts three men in their mid-30s.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, however, remains optimistic.
“We have good team,” he told reporters at Kia Center. “We’ve got a lot of depth, we’ve got a great approach, our players are connected, chemistry is good.”
The Warriors qualify as a “good” team. Their approach is mostly solid. The players generally seem to be pulling in the same direction.
The depth? It’s a tour of highs and lows. And it hit another low against the Magic.
Al Horford led the bench crew with nine points and six rebounds and two steals, but he finished minus-11 over 27 minutes. Brandin Podziemski contributed five points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, finishing minus-7 over 27 minutes. Gary Payton II, who scored four points, somehow finished minus-15 in 10 minutes. Quinten Post scored two points and finished with an even plus-minus.
And then there is Buddy Hield, the team’s most explosive bench player. The guy who over the last five seasons has drained more 3-pointers than anybody besides Curry. The guy who scored 33 points, dropping nine triples, to lift the Warriors to a Game 7 win over the Houston Rockets in a first-round NBA playoff series last season.
Hield came off the bench Tuesday, contributing two points and finishing minus-5 over 15 low-impact minutes.
The 32-year-old guard did not find his rhythm during the first four weeks of the 2025-26 NBA season. Since scoring 17 points – and banging five 3-pointers – on opening night, he is shooting 40.8 percent from the field and only 28.3 percent beyond the arc. He has scored in double figures only three times.
This Buddy isn’t helping the Warriors, and he’s trying the patience of his teammates. There is a reason why Butler, peeved committing a first-quarter turnover on a pass to Hield, barked at his teammate and friend.
“I’m never passing you the ball again,” Butler said.
No doubt, Butler will pass to Hield again. He’ll be a lot more comfortable doing so if he knows Buddy’s head is in the game and he’s playing at the level everyone knows he can reach.
Again, inefficiency and low production of the bench was the most disappointing factor. Turnovers, once again, damaged the Warriors. They were outrebounded (43-36) and punished in the paint (Orlando posted a 64-46 edge), as will happen to the smallest team in the league. Players not named Curry shot 6-of-21 from distance.
But to be destroyed by Black is a demerit for Warriors, and most of it lands on their bench.
“Anthony is a really good young player,” Kerr said. “He’s aggressive. I thought his defense was good and he attacked the rim and got some buckets.”
No lies detected, but the Warriors are in trouble if Black is outscoring their entire collection of reserves.
Black was leading an Orlando bench that entered the game ranked 28th in scoring, averaging 30.1 points per game. Golden State’s reserves, by contrast, were ranked 10th, averaging 37.1 points per game.
Insofar as this was Game 5 of a six-game road trip, the trio of heavy-minute veterans – who combined to commit 11 of Golden State’s 18 turnovers, clearly hurting the cause – really needed a boost from the bench. Not a lot, with Curry scoring 34 points, Butler dropping 33 and Green totaling 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks.
For the Warriors to become the feared offense they aim to be, there will have to be nights when they prevail with neither Curry nor Butler wearing a cape. As prolific as the Curry-Butler combo was, it was not enough.
Golden State’s bench, which has had some terrific games, must find ways to generate offense with more consistency. Even if it requires the support of the entire team to nudge Hield closer to his career shooting metrics.
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