Stephen Curry said the Golden State Warriors must simply "stay afloat" throughout a stretch of crucial games at Chase Center after suffering their worst home loss of the Steve Kerr era.
The Warriors were routed 125-85 by the defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, on Monday.
That 40-point blowout loss was their worst on their own court since Kerr became head coach in 2014, with his wildly successful 11-year stint bringing four NBA Championships and two further NBA Finals appearances.
Golden State last lost by a greater margin at home on January 15, 1985, when they went down to the Dallas Mavericks by a 149-104 scoreline.
The Celtics' lead stood at 10 points or more from the end of the first quarter onwards, with Jayson Tatum (22) leading six Boston players in double digits for points.
The Warriors started the season 12-3 but have since gone 9-18, with injuries keeping Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga out on Monday to add to their woes.
Six of their next seven games are at home, the exception being Wednesday's visit to the Sacramento Kings, and Curry knows how important the coming weeks could prove.
"It's incredibly significant for our season," Curry said of their upcoming stretch. "You'd hope to be a better home team than you are on the road.
"We'll see how we respond to it and if we can take advantage of this stretch. Tonight was not great... that's a Captain Obvious statement.
"But the idea that we can keep ourselves afloat until we get some guys back... it could make or break our season, to be honest.
"Nobody's counting game-by-game, but a six- to eight-game stretch can define where we are going for the rest of the season."
The Warriors memorably beat the Celtics 4-2 as underdogs in the 2022 NBA Finals, but center Kevon Looney admits that triumph feels a long time ago.
"It seems like an eternity ago," Looney said of the team's 2022 championship. "We have had a lot of iterations of the team since then.
"Each season brings on a new challenge. That year seems further and further away.
"Hopefully, we can get back to that feeling of being a champion. We've got a long way to go."