The Warriors’ 120-107 win over the Brooklyn Nets was important, no doubt. It improved Golden State’s record to 17-16 instead of sliding into a losing record, and it came immediately after a heartbreaking loss in Toronto, where the Warriors lost in overtime.

The Nets arrived as one of the league’s hottest teams, with a 7-3 record in the 10 games before facing Golden State, and the league’s best defense in that stretch.

And still, despite the win, Golden State didn’t solve any of the issues that have led Steve Kerr to shuffle his starting lineup nonstop since the beginning of the season, and to describe his team, led by Steph Curry and Draymond Green (who will turn 38 and 36 in March, respectively) and 36-year-old Jimmy Butler, as ״a fading dynasty״.

Against Brooklyn’s starters, Golden State struggled, especially given the massive size gap: four Nets starters listed at 6’8 or taller, versus just one in Golden State’s starting five. Jordi Fernandez, the Nets’ excellent coach, is so committed to player development that he gave extended minutes to rookies Danny Wolf (who struggled defensively, -15 in his minutes), as well as Drake Powell (-19) and Nolan Traore (-21). If Fernandez had coached the game with only one goal, winning, the result might have been different.

A late collapse by Egor Demin, after an excellent shooting night, including critical turnovers in crunch time, also helped the Warriors pull away to a margin that doesn’t really reflect how the game played out.

So what are the Warriors’ flaws, the ones that keep them stuck in mediocrity and make things difficult even against the Nets?

After the constant lineup changes, Kerr recently promised he would stabilize a consistent starting group, with Quinten Post and Moses Moody joining the team’s three main stars. The loss in Brooklyn showed how hard it is to keep that promise.

Post started but eventually played only 4:52 minutes overall. He picked up two early fouls and was whistled for his third near the end of the second quarter, but more than that, he didn’t have a place against Brooklyn’s athleticism and physicality. Post is a complementary piece who fits the specific strengths and limitations of the top three stars, mainly because of his shooting and size. Still, he doesn’t provide an honest answer at center against the physicality of most NBA teams (more on that in a moment).

Moody was just bad offensively, going 1-for-8 from the field. Any attempt to claim he has some clear quality edge over players like Brandin Podziemski, Will Richard, or Gary Payton II is entirely arbitrary. But those names aren’t really starting-caliber players on a team with real playoff ambitions, either.

Jonathan Kuminga? Maybe he could have developed into that, but we won’t know anymore, at least not in a Warriors uniform.

You can keep searching for the perfect combinations, or just admit it: Golden State has one true superstar, plus Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, and a supporting cast that isn’t good enough.

The 2015 title team changed basketball with the ״Death Lineup״: Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green, five players without a real center, and without anyone listed above 6’7.

But that team also had legitimate centers, like Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli, who is now an excellent home-game commentator for the franchise. More importantly, the league has changed. Teams play fast even when their lineup includes Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein. The Nets, who started three players listed above 6’10, are proof of that shift.

The Warriors’ only legitimate centers are Al Horford, who doesn’t play back-to-backs and didn’t suit up in Brooklyn, and Trayce Jackson-Davis, who was good against the Nets but usually lives in Kerr’s doghouse. And no other team would dare to play a 6’3 player, Gary Payton II, at the four.

The Golden State Warriors rank 19th in the league in rebounding (43.8). Almost every night, they are at a disadvantage around the rim. The Warriors did win the rebounding battle against Brooklyn, 40-34, but still struggled on the glass at times, especially against Nic Claxton, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Watch: the Nets’ Offensive Rebounds against the Warriors:

They rank fourth in defensive rating at 112.7, primarily thanks to the IQ and commitment of Green and Butler. But against the size of the truly elite teams, that won’t be enough, especially because Golden State doesn’t score enough on the other end.

Victor Wembanyama recently said the Spurs play ״ethical basketball״. Without getting into what that phrase really means, it’s fair to say the most committed team in the league to ״ethical״ basketball is the Warriors.

They lead the NBA in passes per game (341.3). On some possessions, they play a style you can’t really find anywhere else, built around Steph’s off-ball movement, with the other four players committed to finding him. When the “ethical offense” works, it’s beautiful. Take that possession:

Two issues: a beautiful basketball doesn’t always equal points, as evident in this possession; Secondly, the great Warriors teams from a decade ago were obligated to pace, which was best in the league at 98.3. Today their pace is higher at 99.7, but that ranks only 18th. The league caught up to the Warriors, and they stayed behind. More importantly, the Warriors don’t just pass the most; they also turn it over a lot, third in the league at 16.1 turnovers per game.

When you pass more, you’re more likely to turn it over; that’s logical. The issue is that Golden State’s offense has become predictable. Other coaches understand that, for almost any lineup Kerr plays, there are three players on the floor whose job is to feed Steph Curry (and sometimes Jimmy Butler). More and more coaches are trapping Curry (as in this Nets game) or aggressively denying him the ball. When at least three players at any given moment are looking to pass before they try to score, the result is turnovers:

In general, it looks like the Warriors are searching for players who will run Kerr’s offense, even if they don’t excel in other parts of the game, and even if they don’t have the dimensions modern basketball demands.

Maybe Golden State’s front office, led by Mike Dunleavy Jr., has a genius trade in its pocket that can turn this group into a contender. If not, it’s hard to see how the Warriors climb out of the ״fading dynasty״ lane.