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DiVincenzo's 'play like the freaking Warriors' plea on target

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by Monte Poole

Until the Warriors know the extent of the injury to Stephen Curry’s left
shoulder, which will undergo an MRI test on Thursday, they can’t begin
to know when he might be back on the court.

They have no idea when Andrew Wiggins, who missed the last five games
with right adductor tightness, will be cleared to practice, much suit up
for a game.

What the defending champions do know is that four days after their most
impressive victory of this wildly inconsistent season, they have
relapsed into some of their worst habits.

Shoddy and pliant defense, rife with game-plan deviation, casual
indifference failure to recognize strengths and weaknesses of opposing
personnel. Turnovers, resulting mostly from high-risk passes seeking
moderate reward and rhythm-stifling dribbling into traffic.

All those liabilities were on display in the first half Wednesday
against the Pacers, and a second-half rally couldn’t prevent a 125-119 loss.

“We needed more energy,” reserve guard Donte DiVincenzo told reporters
in Indianapolis. “When things aren’t going our way, when calls aren’t
going our way, there’s a standard playing for the Golden State Warriors.
The biggest message is we’ve got to play like the freaking Warriors.”

If that sounds like a plea, well, it is.

Curry joined the Wiggins on the unavailable list when he injured his
shoulder while reaching for the ball cradled by Indiana big man Jalen
Smith. Wiggins was in street clothes, as was Klay Thompson, resting on
the second night of a back-to-back set.
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The Warriors delivered one half of basketball that followed their
general script. They won the second half 65-51 because they tightened up
the defense, reduced the harmful turnovers, took smarter shots and, most
of all, played from the heart.

“That’s the biggest thing,” DiVincenzo said. “We have to have that
energy, and when we came out in the second half, we really started that
second half playing the brand of basketball that we should be playing.
The energy was good, and the spirit was good.”

With Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, JaMychal Green and Jordan Poole and
DiVincenzo doing most of the heavy lifting, the Warriors played with an
intelligence and determination often missing in the first half.

And, to be frank, that mix of passion and sound technique has been
absent for much of the first eight weeks of the season. And it has been
costly. It’s why the Warriors have yet to string together more than
three consecutive victories, why their record is 14-15 and why they have
been unable to escape the grip of mediocrity.

With two starters unavailable and a third, Curry, leaving late in the
third quarter, the rotations were completely out of sorts. The intention
and disposition, however, were unified.

“I don’t think it was necessarily about the rotation or who was on the
court; it was that spirit thing,” DiVincenzo said. “That energy. That
was the message for those guys checking into the game. When Moses and JK
came in the game, they brought great energy. We got a few stops, and we
got the ball rolling. We’ve just got to close it out at the end.”

The Warriors pulled within three, trailing 122-119, after a 3-ball by
DiVincenzo with 1:25 remaining, before missing shots on their final two
possessions.

“I like the way our guys competed together in that second half,” said
coach Steve Kerr, who like everyone else was clearly displeased with a
first half that included a 47-point second quarter for the Pacers.

“Times like this are a test for your team and your resilience,” Moody
said. “To see stuff going the wrong way, and you could either start
pointing fingers and get down, or you could have what it takes to fight
back.”

The Warriors dug in and fought back. They played with the verve similar
to that which was behind their remarkable 2022 postseason which came
after an ordinary second half of the regular season.

Climbing back above .500 on this road trip will be difficult. Next up
are the Philadelphia 76ers, with MVP candidate Joel Embiid. Then come
the Raptors in Toronto, the Knicks in New York and the rampaging Nets in
Brooklyn.

At this point, the immediate future of the Warriors is less about who
will be on the court than how they approach the game.

“Getting Klay back is going to be great,” DiVincenzo said. “But,
ultimately, just that movement. Swinging the ball. Passing the ball when
we want to pass it and not just when we have to.
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“But stay aggressive. Not just look to pass the whole time, and for Klay
or look for Jordan. Everybody be aggressive and move that (ball) as
much as possible to get the defense scrambling.”

In short, the offense that has won seven consecutive games when posting
more than 30 dimes – not the offense that has lost seven of eight when
failing to top 30.

And the defense that actually shows up, as it last did on Saturday, when
it was at the center of a win over the powerhouse Celtics.

Anything less means, well, more of what happened Tuesday in in defeat at
Milwaukee or in the first half in Indianapolis.