SAN FRANCISCO – It’s not unusual for NBA teams approaching the end of a tough season to review a few games that negatively altered their trajectory. Games that hurt their seeding if not cost them a playoff berth.
The Warriors, perhaps realizing they don’t have the luxury of waiting until April, have reached that point before Thanksgiving.
With back-to-back losses staining their excellent start, the Warriors spent a couple hours Tuesday studying video and working up a sweat on the practice court inside Chase Center.
“It was intense,” Kevon Looney said. “But it was still fun to be back in the practice gym and be back at home. We locked in on the small things. When we messed up, they made sure we did it all over again. It was intense, but we needed to go back over the details of small things that can cost you games.”
The goal is to fix what went horribly wrong in the last two games. The Warriors blew a 17-point over the final 14 minutes to lose by 10 to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, and then at home Monday night blew an 18-point lead over the final 19 minutes to lose to the Brooklyn Nets by eight.
Those two losses to teams sitting at .500 or lower were, to put it mildly, performances unbecoming of a team that has high aspirations and were atop the Western Conference only four days ago.
So, back to school the Warriors went. They’re 12-5 and in second place, but things looked a lot better when they were 12-3.
Golden State Warriors
“We had a good practice today; we needed it,” coach Steve Kerr said. “First practice in about a week. Our performances the last two nights reflected that we needed a lot of work execution-wise.”
The primary offensive flaws exposed were empty possessions due to turnovers and slowness getting into sets. The primary defensive issues that surfaced were late or missed rotations and losing sight of shooters.
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Yet Kerr pointed the finger at himself for some of the shortcomings that led to Golden State’s first encounter this season with consecutive losses.
“When we lose, there’s always stuff that I look at after the fact, in hindsight,” Kerr said, noting a missed timeout opportunity as the Nets were rallying late in the third quarter.
“That’s two games in a row when the third quarter has ended badly, and it set up the momentum in favor of our opponent. That’s on me. As a coach, I’ve got to fix that. And during the game, I probably could’ve managed it better.”
It’s rare that a team loses after compiling more field goals, more rebounds, more assists, more blocks and more steals than the opponent. The Warriors accomplished that feat against Brooklyn thanks to being minus-15 in free throws made and minus-14 in points off turnovers – two areas well within their ability to correct.
Which is why lead assistants Terry Stotts (offense) and Jerry Stackhouse (defense) were hyperactive on Tuesday, particularly during video review.
“After the game, we all know the mistakes we made,” Looney said. “The thing about Stack and Terry, them guys were calling out every single one of them.
“We got back to our basic principles today. Hopefully, we’ll do better for Oklahoma City.”
Oh, yes. The Oklahoma City Thunder, in first place in the West, one game ahead of the Warriors, roll into Chase on Wednesday.
“You’re not doing a lot of physical stuff and you’re not doing a lot of contact,” Kerr said, recapping Monday’s agenda. “But you have to go over the basics and the fundamentals at both ends. When we do, it shows in the next game.”
OKC is a tough assignment – but a perfect setup for what follows. Golden State won’t see another reeling team until 2025.
