Golden State Warriors Bond at the Bowling Alley

The Golden State Warriors have gone 5-1 in their last six games, but they’ve appeared sluggish recently. Heading into the All-Star break, it would make sense that the team might be tired.

To combat their fatigue, Steve Kerr and the rest of the Warriors coaching staff conjured up a brilliant idea. Yesterday, the Warriors’ bus took a detour to a bowling alley in Minnesota called Memory Lanes before heading to practice.

The Warriors put off practice for a few hours to let loose, relax, and try to knock some pins down. This was a genius move by Coach Kerr, who, according to Monte Poole of Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area, said after the Warriors’ last game against the Philadelphia 76ers that the team was tired. Marreese Speights also expressed the team’s fatigue after the game.

"When Steve Kerr says the Warriors are tired, he’s not just referring to the demands of the team’s schedule. He can’t be, not when the Warriors are such a deep team and also the last in the NBA to play its 50th game.No, the coach has to be referring to the mental and physical challenges that come with spending most of the season in rarified air as the league’s best team.…“Right now it just feels like we’re running on fumes, so I’m actually really proud of the guys for pulling that win out,” Kerr said.“We’ve flown 6,000 miles in four days, so we’re kind of tired,” backup big man Marreese Speights said. “But this is the NBA. This is what happens. You’ve just got to get the last couple games out before the break. The break will refresh everybody.”"

The Warriors already have great team chemistry, on and off the court, but these types of experiences are the ones that can differentiate the elite teams from the struggling teams. Usually, the teams that are successful are the ones where the players are truly close and enjoy being around each other on and off the court, which can clearly be said about the Warriors.

This bowling alley excursion was a great way to give the players a little bit of a break, bring them closer before the All-Star break when they will go their separate ways, and, hopefully for the team, help combat some of the fatigue.

Here are some videos and photos from the Warriors’ trip to the bowling alley:

Stephen Curry is known for his beautiful shooting form, but his bowling form isn’t too bad either. Curry adds some tricky spin, which pays off for him, as seen in this video he posted on Instagram.

Shaun Livingston, Festus Ezeli, and Speights also posted photos and videos from their experience today. It looks like everyone in attendance had a great time and truly enjoyed the surprise of bowling.

The Warriors face the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight in their last game before the All-Star break. Warriors players will be spending about a week away from each other, so this bonding experience yesterday was invaluable to elevating the team’s already impressive team chemistry in the middle of the season.

Next: Why Stephen Curry Will Win All-Star Game MVP