Monday Musings: Christmas win, KD dominates and Nuggets provide a wake-up call

OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 25: Klay Thompson
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 25: Klay Thompson /
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Things I Didn’t Like

OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 23: Andre Iguodala
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 23: Andre Iguodala /

The loss to the Nuggets. There’s no sugarcoating how bad the loss was, but this will happen from time to time. The Warriors predicate their offense around shooting. But some nights, the shots won’t go down.

Draymond Green made the Warriors’ first 3-point attempt of the night, and then they missed their next 20 attempts. They finished 3-of-27. That’s unheard of.

This is a microcosm of not having Stephen Curry on the floor. Maybe, with Steph playing, he could’ve had one of his nights and kept the Warriors in the game with his shooting. Instead, there was no Steph, nobody else could shoot and the Warriors were blown out at home by an inferior opponent.

We’re used to seeing the Warriors waltz in and beat teams at home. This game was a wake-up call that it’s still the NBA, and there will be such games — even for the Warriors. They could’ve also used …

Patrick McCaw’s offense. The second-year player was expected to take a step forward this season after a promising rookie campaign. But he’s actually taken a step back. He’s tentative with his shot selection, afraid to take open looks. He’s gotten more playing time as of late due to Curry’s injury, yet hasn’t put up double digits in a game in almost a month.

He did put up 9 points against the Cavs and showed some aggressiveness, which the Warriors want to see more of.

The Warriors are so deep that they don’t necessarily need McCaw to contribute, but it’s a little depressing to see his development stop in Year Two. Speaking of young players, I didn’t like …

Jordan Bell standing over Brandon Ingram. This was a terrific block by the rookie on the Lakers’ youngster.

Could’ve done without the stare-down, especially considering Ingram was hurt on the play. Steve Kerr was also upset that Bell didn’t run back on offense when the Warriors had the ball going the other way:

"“We’re trying to get Jordan to run. He’s one of the most athletic players in the league. This is a very athletic league, and Jordan stands out with his athleticism. But he doesn’t run the floor either way. He runs, kind of. But he should be the fastest guy on the floor up and down both ways.”"

Bell’s a rookie. He’ll learn. I love his antics, his energy — the off-the-backboard slam during garbage time against the Mavericks was amazing. But sometimes, he’s got to pull back.