Warriors 3 Things: Golden State’s loss to Memphis exposed their fatal flaw
Golden State Warriors: Steph Curry and the Dubs are back to their
Strength In Numbers formula. Their loss to the Grizzlies showed why they
abandoned that model a half-decade ago.
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. – OCT. 28: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) reacts after the end of regulation time during their NBA game
against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.,
on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden
State Warriors 104 -101 in overtime. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News
Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. – OCT. 28: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) reacts after the end of regulation time during their NBA game
against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.,
on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden
State Warriors 104 -101 in overtime. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News
Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: October 29, 2021 at 5:00 a.m. | UPDATED: October 29, 2021 at
6:31 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/10/29/warriors-3-things-golden-states-loss-to-memphis-exposed-this-teams-fatal-flaw/

SAN FRANCISCO — There has been a lot of praise, perhaps even bloviation,
about the Warriors after the team’s strong start to the season.

The vast majority of it has been earned. This is a good team — one of
the best squads in the Western Conference – that has a clear identity on
both ends of the floor, enviable depth, and a transcendent superstar at
the peak of his powers.

But in an NBA where there is no clear-cut title favorite and certainly
no obvious juggernaut in the Western Conference, the Warriors’
impressive play from the jump has led some to suggest that this team,
with this roster, is a title contender.

The Memphis Grizzlies showed why that’s not the case on Thursday night
at Chase Center in a 104-101 win.

The simple act of dropping a game wasn’t the title-talk forfeiting
transgression for the Dubs.

No, it was how they lost the game that had serious resonance.

Yes, it was an October game, but it was one against a playoff-caliber
team that brings it every night. The contest was heated to the point
where Steph Curry was empathically clapping ahead of a late-contest
defensive possession against an isolating Ja Morant.

There was some real heat to this game.

And in that heat, the Warriors’ offense melted.

It wasn’t a one-off or a bit of bad luck — it was a symptom of a larger
problem. One that — even with Klay Thompson and James Wiseman back in
the fold and playing well — will likely haunt this team in the spring,
further health permitting.

Be skeptical if you want, but Thursday’s game felt every bit like an
early-season playoff preview in the building. And in it, the Grizzlies
exposed the Warriors’ fatal flaw.

Tied at 98 with two minutes to go, the Warriors — despite tremendous
defense — stopped scoring.

Steph missed an off-balance 3-pointer with 1:24 to play and another
long, desperation heave at the regulation buzzer.

It was a tied game — a two would have done. Instead, Curry was shooting
from 25 feet-plus.

These two shots were sandwiched by an unacceptable 8-second violation
turnover by Green.

Things didn’t get any better in overtime.

Yes, Damion Lee hit a 3-pointer — his second big-time shot of the game —
to put Golden State ahead 101-100, but in the final two minutes of
regulation and five minutes of overtime, the Warriors attempted 10
shots. They made one: That Lee 3.

All but two of those late-game shots were 3-pointers — five from Curry
and three from Lee, with Lee getting the only open looks.

The two shots the Warriors attempted inside the 3-point line were both
blocked at the rim.

Credit to the Grizzlies, a good defensive team whose physicality and
length throws the Warriors, in particular, but the basket was closed
beyond the arc and at the rim.

Where do you go when that’s the case — as it usually is during the big
moments of big games against good teams?

The mid-range.

And the most direct way to get a shot off from the mid-range is to rise
and fire off the bounce.

Does this remind you of another team?

Yes, this was the fatal flaw with the original Strength In Numbers
teams, as evidenced best by the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA
Finals.

He was the most talented free agent in years in a league defined by
superstars, but there was a more acute reason the Warriors added Kevin
Durant after that fateful 2016 game at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors needed a power wing — someone who could create his own shot
off the dribble and rise and knock down shots on dude’s heads.

The Warriors’ free-flowing system doesn’t flow as freely when the game
is in its biggest moments. It’s a natural reaction for things to clog
up, an unstoppable force of nature to clench. It’s also a defense
locking in on the task at hand.

They needed a player like Durant — even a lesser version of arguably the
greatest scorer of all time would do.

Harrison Barnes was a good player, but he was never going to be that
kind of guy.

There was additional maneuvering needed, but the Dubs effectively
swapped Barnes for Durant that summer. In turn, they created the
greatest basketball team of the 21st century.

With Durant, there was always an outlet — a safety valve — for the
Warriors when the ball-movement machine was grinding.

Give it to KD, and KD would get a bucket. Inside, outside, anywhere in
between — it really was that simple.

But Durant isn’t putting on No. 35 in blue and yellow anytime soon, and
now that the Dubs are back to being a competent — perhaps even
contending — squad, his absence is glaring in moments like those we saw
unfold Thursday.

The Warriors had creators on the floor — Curry, Green, Iguodala (to an
extent) — they only had one player, Curry, who could create his own shot
off the dribble. And he’s having to shoot from well behind the line to
get a clean look at the basket.

The return of Thompson isn’t going to fix this problem, by the way. He
wasn’t the solution the first time around.

Thompson is a great player — one of the best in NBA history in my book —
but he’s not a dribbler. Even at the free-throw line, he takes one
mechanical bounce.

There’s no shimmy, no shake. Just the purest stroke that ever existed.
And while he’s happy to shoot in someone’s face, he’s not creating his
own shot. He would have been a massive upgrade over Lee Thursday. (And
Lee was good.)

Perhaps Kerr should have called for a Wiggins isolation late in the
game, but I can’t blame him for not wanting that play — Wiggins turned
the ball over on the last two plays in the game that were called for him
and he’s an underwhelming isolation player.

Or, maybe Kerr should have trusted Jordan Poole instead of Lee in that
moment. He’s confident enough and has good enough handles to try to get
to his spot and knock down a 15-footer.

But Poole had been sloppy to the point of recklessness in the game. He
had six turnovers, four made baskets, and three assists. Oh, and he was
a liability on defense.

This was not his game. Those have been few and far between so far this
season. I don’t think he should have been on the floor Thursday.

Might he need to be on the floor come April? I can buy that. And that’s
what a season is for — lessons and, hopefully, progression on both sides
of the floor. (A progression, in this case on offense, I’m done
expecting Wiggins to make.)

If the Warriors continue to play well — as I expect — and make the
playoffs, the team’s lack of a secondary isolation scorer will be the
thing that undoes them.

They can still go far, but not all the way — not without one of those,
the rarest of breeds in the league.

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- Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

>(Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge that Thursday’s game had no business
being close, because the Warriors had no good reason to turn the ball
over as often and as ridiculously as they did against the Grizzlies.

Not to belabor an obvious point (“too late, Dieter!”) but Green’s
eight-second violation was an immediate disqualification for the Dubs
Thursday.

It wasn’t some brain-fart in the second quarter. He took too long to
bring the ball up the court with a little over a minute left in a tied game.

And Poole’s turnovers? What can you say but “wow!”

The Warriors are relying on the third-year guard to be a key player for
the team this year, with or without Thompson. He’s been an impactful
player to date — far too often it’s making a positive impact for the
opposing team, though.