Golden State Warriors: Analyzing their troubles in the clutch

With the shot clock off, Stephen Curry stepped to the free throw line last night to give the Golden State Warriors a three-point lead over the Washington Wizards. Only a few moments later, the Wizards were walking off the floor with a stunning come-from-behind victory at the last second.

The Golden State Warriors dropped another close game last night against the Washington Wizards in a trend that has plagued their entire season.

What went wrong? Only the word inexperience can sum it up. An errant shot from Russell Westbrook bounced all the way to the perimeter where Bradley Beal was there to convert a four-point play with the game on the line.

Andrew Wiggins, one of the league leaders in shots contested per game, was the culprit who committed the foul. While Wiggins’ hustle on the perimeter helped the Warriors close out a win over the Milwaukee Bucks just a few days ago – this same hustle backfired when he tumbled into Beal on this play. We can’t fault him for attempting to contest the shot but I’m sure Wiggins wishes he could have this one back.

Regardless, the Dubs had a golden opportunity to strike back with just a few seconds remaining. A great play by Steve Kerr saw Curry act as a decoy while Damian Lee slipped to the basket for a layup. Only, Lee didn’t shoot the ball and instead coughed it up to Beal. It’s been said 100 times at this point… but that’s a shot Lee can’t pass up in the future.

These types of plays have been frequent for the Warriors in crunch time. Remember Draymond Green’s horrid halfcourt shot earlier in the season? Or when they inexplicably left Maxi Kleber wide open to win the game in Dallas?

The Warriors rank towards the middle of the pack in terms of closing out clutch games. They are 10-11 in these scenarios, shooting the 10th worst percentage in the NBA yet committing the sixth-fewest turnovers.

Curry himself is great, as expected. The two-time MVP has scored the 11th most clutch points this season and is a scorching hot 50 percent from the 3-point line with the game hanging in the balance.

In contrast, his teammates have not been so hot. Kelly Oubre is the team’s next leading scorer in these situations with 26 points on 10-21 shooting (0-5 from the 3-point line). After that, things get real ugly, with Wiggins shooting just 7-of-25 from the floor and 2-for-10 from the 3-point line.

This has made life more difficult for the Dubs who truthfully look lost whenever Curry isn’t handling the ball in closing time. While much of this is due to inexperience (For example, Lee’s head-scratching turnover), it’s still worth pointing out. The Dubs need to improve in this aspect and sometimes, failing is the only way to learn.