Beware of the blahs of February.
The Golden State Warriors could not withstand the lulls of the dog days of the NBA season. Their 3-3 record during the past six games is the product of sloppy turnovers, non-existent defense, and lackluster energy
Consequently, the Warriors’ disjointed play as of late is the product of a team crawling towards the All-Star Break. For a team that’s been to three straight NBA Finals, their malaise shouldn’t be surprising.
On the other hand, the issues plaguing this team isn’t anything new, only more pronounced. The Warriors’ lack of focus and tendency to take opponents for granted during the regular season is a trend that’s been discussed. The trends are now bad habits, and the Warriors must eliminate them before April. The only thing that Warriors can do between now and All-Star is to just play through it.
“Just keep fighting man.” Stephen Curry said after the Warriors’ 125-105 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. ” We know who we are. We know what we are about, and eventually it will click.”
In order for the Warriors to get out of this slump and prevent those bad habits from creeping into the playoffs, here are four areas of concern that the team must address.
LIMIT TURNOVERS
Ball movement and making the extra pass is a staple of the Warriors’ offense. At 30.4 assist per game, the Warriors are first in the league in dimes. They are one assist from catching the 1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers for most assists per game in a season.
When you are assisting at a high rate, obviously there will be a high rate of turnovers in the mix.
During the past five games, the Warriors have been making a number turnovers that your local bakery couldn’t even imagine. In the Utah game, the Warriors turned the ball over 19 times. Against OKC and Sacramento, 25 times.
In games where they commit 16 turnovers or less, the Warriors are 38-6. When they commit 17 turnovers or more, the Warriors are 5-7 on the year.
When you look at the Warriors, you will find that the turnovers are more often than not self-inflicted. They have a tendency to throw lazy crosscourt passes, force-feed lobs, and force-feed Zaza Pachulia in the post.
There’s not a lot of margin for error in this area in the playoffs. So it’s best for the ‘Dubs to begin showing some discipline and limit the turnovers to less than 16 per game.
LOCKDOWN ON DEFENSE
When fans and some sports pundits think about the Golden State Warriors, they think of their offense. However, their defense that is the catalyst for the offense.
The Warriors run a system based on switches and pressure on the perimeter. Despite leading the league in blocks, the Warriors that have regressed in their perimeter defense.
The Warriors allow an average of 14 uncontested threes per game. However, opponents are shooting 41 percent from deep, up five percent from last season.
Recently, Draymond Green sat down with the Athletic’s Anthony Slater about the state of the defense. In this insightful interview, he mentioned how the emphasis on the three has affected how he plays defense.
“There are several games where I see guys getting in the paint” Green recalls, “And I know I’d usually be in the paint breaking that up. But all of a sudden, I’m thinking ‘Oh I can’t go because I can’t give up this 3”
Green also discussed the concept of defensive rhythm, and how he find his.
“It’s more of a focus thing, being more aggressive” Green said, ” That’s what I’ve been doing of late, being more aggressive on switch outs, way more aggressive on the ball and coming over to help.”
Currently, the Warriors are sixth in the league in defensive efficiency. With more discipline and focus, the Warriors can and will round their defense into playoff form.
ROTATIONS
Last season, Coach Kerr spent most of the season staggering the minutes of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Only in the playoffs did the two play with each other.
This season, Kerr is playing Curry and Durant together. Granted, the purpose of pairing Curry and Durant together is to have your best lineup on the floor out there dominating. However, the Warriors’ bench struggles makes staggering the minutes of the two MVP’s the sensible option.
Having Durant or Curry out there with the second uint during the second and fourth quarters provides Golden State with additional firepower and stability.
The bench is averaging 33 points per game, which is 20th in the league. Since there are no viable candidates in the buyout market for Golden State to pursue, the Warriors must improvise. It is as simple as having two of the All-Stars on the floor with three players from the bench.
“LOCK IN” TO A CHAMPIONSHIP MENTALITY
During practice this week, Warriors’ GM Bob Meyers addressed the team regarding their technical fouls. The Warriors accumulated 39 techs this year, only trailing the Thunder by one. Green and Durant combined for 25 of those 39 techs. Durant leads the league in ejections.
“Its not a good look,” Coach Kerr said of the technicals, “We need to look more professional, to act more professional and to be more poised.”
Before the Warriors/Spurs game, former Memphis Grizzlies coach David Fizdale said that the techs are a result of entitlement. He said that the Warriors, after three straight trips to the Finals and two championships, are feeling entitled. Fizdale suggested that the Dubs’ sense of entitlement is spilling over to their interactions with the refs.
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Here’s the thing: The Warriors sense of entitlement isn’t only spilling over into how they interact with the refs. You can very well say that it’s spilling over into their play.
“Sometimes we take for granted the type of talent we have and think we can just go out there and get it done,” David West said after the Warriors’ 122-105 win against the Spurs, “But we know we have to bring that consistent effort and play with a certain level of force to make teams do what we want them to.”
The Warriors condescend and play down to their opponents at times; hence the losses to the Kings, Hornets, Jazz, and Nuggets. They also have a tendency to play focused, disciplined basketball against teams that they respect.
For the second half of the season, the Warriors must take no one for granted. If they are missing an edge, they can get it back by remembering what it was like to be disrespected.
Next: How do the Golden State Warriors Fix Their Defensive Issues?