Kurtenbach: The Warriors lost, but at least they’re not the Lakers or Nets
Warriors 85 – Jazz 111: Utah snapped Golden State's win streak at nine,
but the loss is a reminder of how good these Dubs are.
>Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) drives as Utah Jazz
forward Royce O’Neale (23) defends during the first half of an NBA
basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in Salt Lake City. (AP
Photo/Rick Bowmer)
>Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) drives as Utah Jazz
forward Royce O’Neale (23) defends during the first half of an NBA
basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in Salt Lake City. (AP
Photo/Rick Bowmer)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: February 10, 2022 at 4:30 a.m. | UPDATED: February 10, 2022
at 10:49 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/10/kurtenbach-the-warriors-lost-but-at-least-theyre-not-the-lakers-or-nets/

Yes, the Warriors’ 111-85 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night was bad.

Awful, in fact.

It was unfocused, unserious, and unflattering. It also brought to an end
the Dubs’ nine-game winning streak.

But instead of bellyaching about the Warriors’ poor play, let me instead
offer some perspective.

Some petty perspective, in fact.

Things could be worse.

The Warriors played terribly Wednesday.

At least they didn’t lose to a Blazers team that’s tanking hard — a
Blazers team that is down their best player, traded away all their other
good players, and haven’t received the make-weights they received for
them yet.

The Lakers did that on Wednesday, with LeBron James scoring 30 points in
a losing effort.

Los Angeles — dubbed a “superteam” in the preseason by those who don’t
know basketball — is now four games under .500 and five games back of a
real, top-six playoff spot.

Yes, the Warriors’ season has been chaotic, but in benign ways. Quaint ways.

The Warriors have three All-Stars. One isn’t playing like himself. The
other had a vaccine controversy at the beginning of the year. The other
is out right now with an injury.

But none of that has become a real problem. The Warriors have kept
winning. At least the Warriors won nine straight games over the last
two-plus weeks before Wednesday’s loss.

The Nets, however, have the same problems with their three star players.

And that has become a real problem. They keep losing. Nine straight
games going into Thursday’s contest with the Wizards.

Kevin Durant is injured — no shade there, injuries happen, especially
when you have to carry a team. Kyrie Irving has allowed his vaccine
controversy to define his season, unlike Andrew Wiggins, who is having
the best season of his career and is an All-Star starter because of it
(and some help from a Korean pop star).

And while Steph Curry isn’t playing his best as of late, he has still
helped the Warriors win games. He’s been a consummate leader on and off
the floor.

James Harden, on the other hand, has shouted and pouted and is now
sitting out games, reportedly pushing for a trade out of Brooklyn.

[UPDATE: Harden received what he wanted, the Nets reportedly traded him
to Philadelphia Thursday for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond,
and two first-round draft picks.]

The Nets entered this season as title favorites. They are still title
favorites in some poorly run sportsbooks. And they are a mess — closer
to falling out of the playoffs (they’re currently a play-in team) to
having home-court advantage, even in a tight Eastern Conference.

The Warriors are 41-14. They have the second-best record in the NBA.
They have the best point differential and net rating in the league.
Nothing has been perfect or lucky for them. But they keep winning.

They lost Wednesday to a good team that played much harder than them in
a tough place to play on the first end of a back-to-back.

Yeah. Things could be worse.

» The Jazz didn’t have center Rudy Gobert, but they kept their normal
gameplan for Wednesday’s contest. It worked.

The Warriors only scored 20 points in the paint, as backup centers
Hassan Whiteside and Udoka Azubuike were stellar. Whiteside had seven
blocks, 17 rebounds, and was a plus-23.

This is the space where folks who want the Warriors to add a big man at
the trade deadline or in the buyout market will complain. Fair enough
after that game.

“We did look small out there tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said
after the game.

But what I didn’t like was the Warriors’ inability to pull Whiteside, in
particular, from the lane or punish him from remaining under the hoop.

The vast majority — if not all — regular-season basketball games are a
matter of surviving and advancing. Unless you’re the Miami Heat, there
are no totally bespoke game plans or targeted defenses. Teams play their
game against their opponents game and we see who wins.

We saw such a result on Wednesday.

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As the Warriors worked the ball around the perimeter, playing 5-on-4,
Whiteside just stood in the lane, apparently with diplomatic immunity
from the 3-second rule, waiting for Golden State to come to him.

Again and again, they did, lacking the player and ball movement and the
shooting to create a better plan on the fly.

There’s no reason for panic or even over-analyzation — should these two
teams meet in the playoffs, there will be a game plan for the center,
whether it be Gobert, Whiteside or Azubuike, standing in the lane
without a purpose.

They’ll find that purpose fast over a seven-game serious.

But it was jarring to see how much if flummoxed the Warriors Wednesday.

No, Golden State is not a big team, but small teams should have some
advantaged against old-school, rim-protecting centers — speed, agility,
spacing via shooting.

The Warriors lacked it all on Wednesday. They were a small team that
couldn’t play small ball, and it made for an ugly game.

» The Warriors might have looked small Wednesday, but big ups to Kevon
Looney for playing in the game.

Looney had a quad bruise, picked up Monday in Oklahoma City, and was
questionable to the game in Utah.

Most players would just take the night off.

But not Looney.

The Warriors needed him — why they needed him is another topic for
another day — and so he pushed to play and did. He’s now played in every
game this season.

Never did I ever think that Looney would be the Warriors’ iron man. His
goal is to play 82 games and he might just do it. This isn’t easy work,
either. For the last two months, he’s been on the floor for 25 minutes a
night.

Looney isn’t the MVP of the Warriors, but there needs to be some sort of
accolade we can provide this guy at the end of the year.

Glue player of the year?

Best professional?

Shoot me your best ideas. This guy deserves something special.