Tired Golden State Warriors may have nothing left come postseason
The Golden State Warriors ran out of gas on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies, completely fading late to suffer a 133-119 loss at FedExForum.
On the second night of a back-to-back after an eight-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, the Warriors failed to sustain a second-half comeback where they twice cut a double-digit deficit to four points or less.
The Golden State Warriors may have nothing left to give come the postseason even if they’re successful in earning a playoff spot.
A 21-3 Grizzlies run completely obliterated the visitors as the defending champions succumbed to their 11th straight loss on the road. It’s been a rough season for Golden State with a complex spate of issues occuring ever since the infamous Draymond Green-Jordan Poole altercation during training camp. Has it all become too much for them, from a physical, mental and emotional standpoint? Their veteran starters looked tiresome against the younger Grizzlies, leaving much of the work to their younger teammates.
The Warriors got 45 combined points from Jonathan Kuminga and Jordan Poole on Saturday. The latter attacked at will late in the third-quarter, constantly drawing contract and nailing his free-throws to keep Golden State in the game.
On the other hand, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were largely limited to perimeter jumpshots, recording 30 combined points amid just four free-throw attempts between them. Speaking after the game, Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr said, “it just felt like Steph’s legs just weren’t quite there tonight and it’s going to happen.”
It’s going to happen because Golden State have put themselves in a position where they can’t afford to go anything less than full bore. At 36-36 and seventh in the Western Conference, the Warriors won’t be resting anyone over the last 10 games.
Golden State will be hoping to have Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II return at some point before the conclusion of the season, but even if they do, it might be too late for them to make a significant impact to the dwindling season.
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It seems like the Warriors have been pushing uphill for months, and the further it goes along, the more optimism fades that they could eventually turn it around. Saturday was another example that even if they do secure a playoff berth, they may have nothing left in the tank to do too much damage.