Former NBA champion sends strong message to Golden State Warriors - "They need to stop counting those 4 rings"

For the majority of this season, the Golden State Warriors have struggled to find any form of consistency or rhythm similar to the team they were last season. From players being in and out of the lineup due to injuries, to an inexperienced bench unit aside from Jordan Poole, the defending NBA champions have now lost three straight and have only won four of their last 10 games.

"Here's my message to the Golden State Warriors: They need to stop counting those four rings and start competing," ESPN's Kendrick Perkins, an NBA champion with the Boston Celtics said on "First Take." "When we look at them with the matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, every time they have matched up over the last couple of weeks, it's been a spanking.

"And it's been without Ja Morant. So, look, I understand and I respect the championships. ... At the same time, the game is won between the lines right now. ... So far, the Memphis Grizzlies and Dillon Brooks, they've been talking that talk and walking that walk.

"So, I'm looking at the Golden State Warriors right now who are horrible on the road. We're coming up into the postseason, they need to get their act together. ... The Warriors are the ones being petty, especially Klay (Thompson). If you're gonna talk that talk, do something about it. Don't go in there and get a spanking."

The Golden State Warriors' struggles this season

This season, the Golden State Warriors are coming off beating the Boston Celtics in six games in the NBA Finals in June. They started the season well as they handled the LA Lakers with ease 123-109.

However, the Warriors have struggled this season in finding that dominant nature in a consistent fashion. This problem has been most evident when they played games on the road with a disappointing record of 7-29, as opposed to their impressive home record of 29-7.

During the offseason, they traded away some of their most prominent players in the second unit from Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton Jr. to Damion Lee. The Golden State Warriors also failed to provide the necessary replacements for those players, and as a result, they have one of the NBA's most inexperienced bench units outside of Jordan Poole.

The Warriors have also had players miss a significant amount of time due to injuries such as Steph Curry and Draymond Green. The Warriors are also without Andrew Wiggins, who is not with the team due to personal reasons.

Their 133-119 loss at the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday received some attention as they have now lost twice to a Ja Morant-less Grizzlies team. During the final minutes of the game, Klay Thompson and Dillon Brooks went back-and-forth from their opposite benches, with Klay signaling that he won four rings as opposed to Brooks not even having one.

The Warriors (36-36) are seventh in the Western Conference with only 10 games left to go in the regular season.