In a game against the team with the best record in the league, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors would warmly accept any semblance of good news, no matter how trivial. That good news came at halftime when the Warriors limited the team that leads the league in points scored per 100 possessions to just 86.8 points per 100 possessions, which included forcing 11 turnovers.

For the Warriors this season, this good news almost always comes with reservations – this season was no different. Although the Cavs remained well below their league-leading mark in the first half, the Warriors achieved an even result themselves fewer Points per 100 possessions – 71.7. Despite a strong defensive half, they were still ahead by a gigantic 15.1 points per 100 possessions. Those 11 turnovers they forced on the Cavs resulted in a total of…wait for it…

Zero points.

Still, it seems pretty confusing to go into halftime with an eight-point deficit – but at the same time, they were lucky that the deficit wasn’t much larger, as they were completely inept on offense, both in the half court and in their attempts to translate Convert Cavs turnovers into points. It was representative of a theme that has emerged this season: Despite a defense that was ranked in the top 10, their inability to consistently put the ball in the basket has put the most pressure on their defense to carry the load, an approach highly untenable.

So it was pretty telling that outside halftime — after Trayce Jackson-Davis scored on the Warriors’ first possession of the second half and Donovan Mitchell responded with a three-pointer — former Warriors assistant and Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson threw a wrench into Steve Kerr’s attempts to cause offense.

For this offside line, focus on Steph Curry and his defender (Darius Garland). Next, focus on the other Cavs players:

Garland is persistent in sticking with Curry, making sure Curry doesn’t spend too much time in open space trying to get the ball back. Garland’s teammates form a box around the paint and don’t seem too concerned if a non-Curry Warrior fires a shot from outside.

That non-Curry warrior ended up being Andrew Wiggins. Even though the Cavs shot a career-high 41.4% on three-pointers on 5.4 attempts per game this season, they were more than willing to let Wiggins take that shot. Their gamble paid off and Wiggins finished the night 1 of 5 and three-pointers. To make matters worse, Mitchell practiced another pull-up three-pointer on the Warriors’ faces – a six-point swing.

The Warriors have Curry bring the ball to the ground with Garland still up there guarding him, although the other Cavs players remain in a box formation around the perimeter, not actively guarding any player, and allowing the other Warriors to move freely:

Unlike the previous possession, the Cavs appeared to be unclear on their coverage. What starts out as a 1-2-2 zone becomes a box-and-one, with Mitchell having to switch to Curry as Wiggins comes over to screen for Curry. While continuing to faceguard Curry, the Cavs flock to a matchup zone – meaning one defender actively guards whoever has the ball while everyone else goes into the zone. When Dennis Schröder enters the game, everyone else collapses except for Mitchell (who is still guarding Curry) and Dean Wade (who is guarding Wiggins) – both of whom are currently guarding the Warriors’ best shooters.

Schröder’s layup attempt is blocked in a crowded passage – and Mitchell pulls in again for another three-pointer:

This hybrid box-and-one and matchup zone continues on the Warriors’ next offensive possession. Garland follows Curry – with Mitchell nearby and no other warriors nearby:

The Cavs once again successfully deny Curry the ball while the other Warriors try to get on offense without Curry. Draymond Green manages to draw a shooting foul despite possession seemingly going nowhere:

Green, however, misses both free throws – adding to the Warriors’ charity problems: He ranks last in free throw percentage (71.2%), while he ranks 29th in free throw attempt percentage.

After struggling with the hybrid system for a while, the Warriors tried something different: They had Curry set up a screen to free a teammate. He sets the flare screen for Wiggins below, allowing Wiggins to drive in, get help, and dump Jackson-Davis in the dunker spot for the easy rim score:

The Cavs respond with another three-pointer – this time from Wade. Curry runs an angle pick-and-roll with Jackson-Davis while everyone else is spread out. Since the Cavs weren’t worried about the Warriors’ distance, they put two balls to Curry, who passed the ball to Jackson-Davis in the short roll. Wanting to take advantage of no one guarding him on the perimeter, Green cuts through to make himself available to Jackson-Davis.

But a strong paint – and good competition from Evan Mobley – make Green’s direct attempt a difficult proposition:

On the next possession, Mitchell signals to the Cavs bench and asks with a show of hands if they are still in a box-and-one against Curry:

The answer from the Cavs bench was apparently a “no” – the Cavs matched up well and defended normally on this possession, where Curry eventually drifted into the corner to clear the floor for a pick-and-roll led by Wiggins Jackson Davis. However, Wiggins’ attempt to pass the pocket pass to the rolling Jackson-Davis is poor – and leads to a turnover:

In four possessions by the Cavs, who deployed a hybrid junk defense against Curry – a box-and-one with matchup zone elements – the Warriors managed to score a meager two points, or half a point per possession. In this period, the Cavs increased their lead from eight points to twenty, even though Curry was on the court. In an 18-point loss, the Warriors topped just two points in Curry’s 29 minutes.

This is a microcosm of an evergreen problem — one that, on a roster unable to find someone who can shoulder the point- and advantage-creating burden, is about Curry’s burden in his age-37 season and battle with bilateral knee tendonitis to alleviate, seems to be even more pronounced. Curry hasn’t had the best statistical season, but the on/off numbers still illustrate the need for his presence: The Warriors are entering Curry at the level of the fourth-best offense in the league (118.0 points per 100 possessions). Without Curry on the field, by far the worst offense in the league (99.5 points per 100 possessions).

But despite those numbers, the fact that Curry has to expend extra energy to give the Warriors’ offense a fighting chance – or expend no energy to preserve whatever he has left in his reserves – highlights several problems plague this team. The much-needed second goalscorer and advantage provider wasn’t there (Schröder – who was brought in for that role – struggled to do so). In 17 games since losing to the San Antonio Spurs on November 23rd, the Warriors have an effective field goal percentage (eFG%) of 49.4%; only the Charlotte Hornets’ 49.1% were worse during that time. The team is full of offensive tweeners of all kinds: ball handlers who can’t shoot and/or score; athletes who cannot handle the ball; Bigs who don’t have the touch at the rim to complete layups or putbacks; and wings unable to clear floor space and clear lanes for cuts and trips to the edge.

In more ways than one, this team has put itself in a box that’s difficult to break out of — just like Curry and his difficulty breaking out of the box the Cavs built around him early in the second half.