Golden State Warriors continue to drop clutch games
By Tony Pesta
In a season where each game is crucial in determining the playoff race, the Golden State Warriors are dropping far too many games in the final seconds. The Dubs are 11-14 in ‘clutch’ games this season according to NBA.com — making them the ninth-worst team in the association when it comes to finishing close games.
Despite having one of the NBA’s most clutch players, the Golden State Warriors continue to drop games in the clutch this season.
Where do the Warriors’ problems lay? Well, it’s mostly due to inexperience. The fact of the matter is, this team has a bunch of young guys who haven’t had enough reps at the NBA level to close out a game each night.
Look no further than Damion Lee inadvertently turning the ball over rather than shooting an open layup against the Washington Wizards to tie the game. Or… for another example against the Wizards, see last night when Andrew Wiggins simply clunked an open layup to tie the game.
The most recent blunder has nothing to do with inexperience. Wiggins is practically an NBA vet at this point, playing in his seventh season. But, it is representative of the Warriors’ main problem in the clutch — and an issue that has plagued them all season long.
Aside from Stephen Curry, the Dubs are woefully bad at scoring in the clutch. Curry is 29-of-62 (46.8%) from the field with the game on the line for a total of 99 points this season. Next on the Warriors is Kelly Oubre — who has actually shot better than Curry at 47.8% for 30 total points.
However, it gets ugly after Curry and Oubre. Wiggins is just 10-of-30 in the clutch while Draymond Green and Lee are a combined 10-of-28. This lack of support has made it all the more difficult for Curry to score and late-game double teams are becoming frequent against the Warriors.
As they currently stand, the Warriors are roughly three games away from jumping to sixth in the standings or plummetting out of the Play-In picture altogether. It’s safe to say that whichever direction they fall, the Dubs will be wishing they took better care of business in closing moments.