Steve Kerr Says Warriors Were 'Not a Championship Team' After Loss to Lakers

The dynastic run for the Golden State Warriors may have come to an end on Friday night with a 122-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Speaking to reporters after his team's loss, head coach Steve Kerr offered a simple assessment of why they aren't moving on: "To be fair I think this team ultimately maxed out. We were barely in the playoff picture for most of the year. ... This is not a championship team."

There was a feeling throughout the season that the Warriors would be able to flip a switch when they got into the playoffs.

They had the second-best betting odds to win the NBA title of any Western Conference team four games into their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings. The series was tied 2-2 at that point.

Stephen Curry's historic 50-point performance in Game 7 against the Kings left a feeling that the Warriors making another deep run was inevitable.

Things quickly went south against the Lakers. Golden State had no answer on either end of the court for Anthony Davis.

Curry still got his points (26.7 per game in the series), but he only shot 43.9 percent from the field. Klay Thompson scored a total of 42 points over the final four games after scoring 25 and 30 in Games 1 and 2.

The Warriors showed us who they were throughout the regular season. They won 44 games and had the fourth-worst road record in the NBA (11-30). They were able to get a couple of wins away from Chase Center against the Kings, but went 0-3 against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.

There were plenty of reasons that could explain why the Warriors weren't a dominant regular-season team. Curry missed 26 games due to injuries. Andrew Wiggins only played 37 games and missed the final two months for personal reasons.

The bet on Jordan Poole, who signed a four-year, $140 million extension in October, looks like a bust right now. He averaged a career-high 20.4 points per game, but his scoring efficiency took a steep drop from last season and he remains a huge liability on defense.

All of the pieces add up to a team that was mediocre for most of the season and couldn't find another gear against quality competition in the playoffs.