The latest Crickex Affiliate discussion has been all about the clash between the NBA’s two oldest lineups — the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers. After a busy offseason of roster changes, both teams entered the new campaign carrying the weight of experience. The Warriors can now field a starting lineup averaging over 35 years old, while the Clippers’ core players are comfortably past 30. Age has become both their weapon and their weakness.
To counter fatigue and declining pace, both sides have deliberately slowed down their tempo this season, focusing on precision and control rather than speed and athleticism. As the data shows, the Clippers rank 25th in pace across the league, while the Warriors sit in the middle of the pack at 15th. Given this shared approach, most Crickex Affiliate analysts expected a low-scoring, grind-it-out battle when the two veteran squads faced off. Few thought either team would have the energy to dominate the other in a full-court duel.
Yet the opening quarter told a different story. The Warriors started strong, jumping out to a double-digit lead midway through the first period. Still, the Clippers didn’t panic. They knew Golden State was playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and fatigue would inevitably set in. Sure enough, as the Warriors’ defense began to loosen, the Clippers mounted a comeback and even took the lead by halftime. Both sides leaned heavily on their aging superstars, but in contrasting ways. For Golden State, Stephen Curry struggled early from long range but focused on ball distribution instead, tallying five assists in the first half. Harden, meanwhile, abandoned his usual playmaking role and turned into a pure scorer, dropping 20 points before intermission—his first half without an assist since 2019.
The pattern flipped after halftime. Just as one team had dominated each of the first two quarters, the Warriors took command in the third. Having conserved energy by facilitating early on, Curry unleashed his offense in the second half, converting that saved stamina into quick bursts of scoring. The Clippers’ strategy of relying on individual brilliance began to show cracks. Without fluid ball movement, their attack stalled, while Golden State’s bench continued to extend the lead even when Curry rested. By the fourth quarter, the Warriors were up by 20, and the game was effectively over. Curry finished with a modest 19 points and 8 assists—numbers that didn’t jump off the page but were enough to seal a comfortable victory.
The Clippers, on the other hand, seemed to lose their spirit entirely. The second half exposed their biggest weakness: inconsistency. Harden, after his explosive start, disappeared from the scoreboard—failing to register a single point in the final two quarters. For fans familiar with his playoff struggles, the sight felt like déjà vu. Crickex Affiliate followers summed it up best: Curry managed the game like a chess master, while Harden once again faded when it mattered most, leaving the Clippers looking like the older, slower team despite having every chance to win.