The Warriors have been searching for any indication of life on the road this season, and Steve Kerr is hoping their 127-125 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center did the trick.
While appearing on 95.7 The Game on Thursday, Kerr was asked about the stark differences in the Warriors' home and road splits.
"I don't really have an answer for you," Kerr told Mark Willard and Dan Dibley. "The numbers are so dramatically different defensively, home and road, and there's no easy answer for it. I do think we enjoy playing at home. We won a championship last year, we've got great fans. When teams come in here, there's a feeling we're going to take care of our home floor. We've done that for a long time now. So that really isn't surprising to me.
"What is surprising is that we haven't been able to close games on the road. So hopefully last night is a sign of things to come."
The Warriors began their five-game road trip with three straight losses to the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies. But they managed to finish the gauntlet with back-to-back wins over the Houston Rockets and Mavericks, pushing their road record to 9-29 this season.
Known for their unmatched ability to win tough road games over the last decade, that trait has abandoned the Warriors this season. Now, with eight regular-season games remaining, including three on the road, Golden State is hoping they can recapture the magic with the NBA playoffs right around the corner.
Barring a late push to the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference standings, the Warriors are unlikely to have home-court advantage in any playoff series, should they get there and then advance out of the first round.
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So being able to muster the energy and mental toughness to win at least one road game per series will be vital for the Warriors if they have any hope of successfully defending their NBA championship.
If the Warriors indeed have turned the corner on the road, Kerr will have to wait to confirm his hope, as Golden State begins a stretch of four straight home games Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers. Their next game away from Chase Center comes against the Denver Nuggets on April 2 at Ball Arena, a notoriously tough place to play.
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But a win in the Mile High City and then against the Kings on April 7 at Golden 1 Center certainly would prove Kerr's theory right at the perfect time.