The Warriors play-in tournament was defined by unnecessary turnovers

For a second straight game, the Golden State Warriors outplayed their opponent but failed to take care of the ball. Now, they’ll at be home watching the Memphis Grizzlies take on the Utah Jazz in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

After the Warriors game against the Lakers, I looked at their turnover difference and how, despite shooting better from both the field and from deep, the Warriors still lost. That problem came back to bite them once again.

The Golden State Warriors played sloppy offense for a second straight game, but this time, their failure to execute has sent them home for the season.

Against the Lakers, the Warriors had 20 turnovers. It was ugly as a handful came within the last few minutes. They topped that at home against the Griz. Memphis had 13 turnovers but that paled in comparison to the Warriors 21.

Draymond Green and Stephen Curry combined for 12 against Los Angeles, and yesterday, they had a combined 21. Aside from those two, Juan Toscano-Anderson was the only player over two as he had four.

While JTA has been a huge part of the team and played an impactful 32 minutes, those were possessions that were crucial. Given the burden that Green and Curry carry, it’s a bit more understandable from those two, but JTA needed to be better.

Even Curry had too many at pivotal times. The Warriors did make a nice comeback to force overtime. While they did protect the ball well in OT, a late-period Jordan Poole turnover partially cost them the game.

For Golden State, it was the early-game struggles that forced them into a deficit that left them begging for overtime. Despite Curry’s 39 and Wiggins’ 22, Golden State still couldn’t get enough to make it through despite being able to have the last real possession in regulation.

Whether it was Green offensive fouls or Curry losing the ball, the Warriors missed out on too many possessions, and they can only look at their sloppy play as to why they lost against the Memphis Grizzlies.

On the bright side, Curry can finally rest after two games in three days, playing 40-plus minutes in both. They’ll also get to reload with five-time All-Star Klay Thompson coming back.

This season was a success because of how Stephen Curry cemented himself as a generational talent that can lead a team single-handedly. They put on a show against the league’s reigning champs even without two of their better players, and that’s how this season should be defined.