Careless mistakes, lack of aggression led to Warriors’ ’embarrassing’
Game 5 loss in Memphis
The Warriors need to beat Memphis on the boards and limit turnovers.
They did neither in a Game 5 loss.
>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MAY 11: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) and Nemanja Bjelica (8) defend the Memphis Grizzlies’ Steven Adams
(4) in the third quarter of Game 5 of a second-round NBA basketball
playoff series at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 11,
2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MAY 11: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) and Nemanja Bjelica (8) defend the Memphis Grizzlies’ Steven Adams
(4) in the third quarter of Game 5 of a second-round NBA basketball
playoff series at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 11,
2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 12, 2022 at 5:30 a.m. | UPDATED: May 12, 2022 at 10:21 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/05/12/careless-mistakes-lack-of-aggression-led-to-warriors-embarrassing-game-5-loss-in-memphis/

The Warriors are still a win away from clinching their first Western
Conference finals berth since 2019. But they looked far from mentally
capable of competing on that level in Game 5.

Draymond Green, a seasoned clinching game veteran, told the team before
tip-off to “‘Bring your hard hats. It could be ugly.’”

It got ugly, all right.

The Warriors lost by 39 points, 134-95, at FedEx Forum in Memphis and
fell down by as many as 55 in the third quarter. For the Warriors, that
big of a losing margin came down the the smallest, most costly mental
mistakes. They turned the ball over 14 times in the first half and were
beaten on the offensive boards 13-2.

The second-half statistics are inconsequential since the starters were
pulled mid-way through the third quarter when it became apparent a loss
was inevitable, but Memphis out-rebounded the Warriors 63-45, 18-4 on
the offensive boards.

A lackadaisical effort on both ends in the first half caused a landslide
that should have Warriors fans questioning if this team has what it
takes to buck up in must-win moments.

Turnovers are a staple of the Warriors’ offense — has been for most of
the Steph Curry era. It’s something the team gives up in order to keep
their offense fast-paced. And the pressure of the postseason hasn’t
tightened the screws, either. Their 15 turnovers per game are tied for
the most among remaining teams with the Grizzlies, no less.

But a handful of turnovers in the second quarter determined the game.

A comeback looked within reach when the Warriors came within 11 points
on a Jordan Poole three-pointer with five minutes remaining. Then Green
fumbled a pass for a turnover that led to a Tyus Jones 3. Kevon Looney
botched a hand-off to Curry for a turnover that led to a De’Anthony
Melton layup and Green turned the ball over again on a bad pass into the
paint to Curry out of bounds. Steven Adams scored an and-1 layup on the
other end.

In one minute and three turnovers, the Grizzlies had a 20-point lead.

“That’s something we’ve been talking about all playoffs. Not just
tonight, not just the series,” acting head coach Mike Brown said of the
turnovers. “We have to do a better job taking care of the ball. We have
to settle down on offense to try to limit them because when you have
turnovers like we did tonight, especially tonight, it snowballs and it
kind of deflates us as the game goes along.”

Green and, at times, Curry and Poole have caused too many
momentum-killers. The turnovers have gotten worse in this series, where
the Warriors’ are averaging 17 turnovers per game. Green’s
responsibility on offense is to facilitate, find the open man and keep
the ball moving until they can find the best shot to take.

But Green has been stumbling into more turnovers than plays — he had
five in 22 minutes on Wednesday. Over the last last three games, he’s
had 11 turnovers, 18 assists and 12 points. For the series, he has 20
turnovers and 24 points. Not an ideal ratio. Often times, Memphis is
telegraphing his passes.

“We have to take care of the ball and rebound,” Green said. “Those are
two keys to this series and we did both horribly tonight.”

On Wednesday, Curry turned the ball over twice and Poole four times when
he couldn’t keep his handle off the dribble. Curry played 25 minutes and
Poole 20 before sitting out for most of the second half. Curry said they
need to be more mindful of taking the open looks they’re getting while
mitigating the risks they’re taking.

“We showed that, and then all hell broke lose in terms of losing the
possession game,” Curry said. “Slowing down, being more mindful an
understand we can get great shots if we are more conscious of that. When
we do it right, we win, when we don’t we lose.”

Dominating the boards has been a staple of the Warriors’ success against
Memphis so far. The Grizzlies entered the series as one of the best
rebounding teams in the NBA, but an undersized Golden State team has
been neck-and-neck with the Grizzlies on the offensive boards — both
averaging 11 per game in four games leading up to Game 5.

But the Warriors were out-rebounded and out-hustled. For a team that
feasts on transition offense, those missed boards snowballed into a
clogged and disjointed offense.

“We’ve had an alertness and awareness when it came to boxing out early
and we didn’t have that tonight,” Brown said. “There were too many times
throughout the course of the game where their wings and bigs ran by
us…we have to do a better job of going and seeking a boding and boxing
them out early and hope one of our teammates gets the rebound.”

>RELATED ARTICLES
The Warriors have problems; here are the solutions
How the Warriors plan to flush their Game 5 blowout loss
Photos: Golden State Warriors sing the Memphis blues during epic loss
to the Grizzlies in Game 5
Kurtenbach: The deeper meaning behind the Warriors’ embarrassing Game
5 loss
Lifeless Warriors embarrassed in blowout Game 5 loss

Along with Green, Andrew Wiggins and Otto Porter Jr. — and Looney,
during his limited minutes — have been instrumental in keeping the count
close. Wiggins’ has been more aggressive than he was in the regular
season fighting for rebounds, using his length and strength to wrangle
the ball on the offensive and defensive ends. He’s averaging 6.5
rebounds per game in these playoffs.

But Wiggins wasn’t quite his playoff self on Wednesday. He had one
rebound in 20 minutes. Porter Jr. did not return for the second half
with a foot injury. His status for Game 6 is unknown.

Individually, none of the Warriors performed to their standards. It
resulted in an embarrassing loss. With the Grizzlies in survival mode,
the Warriors need to match their energy before things snowball a little
too far.

--
Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter