That was one to forget.
Sitting their veterans on the backend of a back-to-back, the Warriors (48-28) were blasted by an undermanned Grizzlies (53-23) team in Memphis, 123-95, on Monday night.
The loss concludes a hellish road trip without Stephen Curry, where Golden State went 1-4 including losses to Orlando and Washington. Ironically, their lone win came without their veterans against the Heat, the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Golden State has now lost six of their last seven. Monday’s defeat puts them just a 1.5 games up on the Mavericks for the Western Conference’s No. 3 playoff seed, which is now seriously in doubt. Golden State has upcoming games vs. the Jazz and Suns at home, games they could easily drop.
As a whole, the team is 5-16 over the last two seasons without Curry, who may not return until the playoffs begin in mid-April. With six games remaining, only 3 games separate the Warriors and No. 6 seeded Denver Nuggets. Things could get a lot worse if the rut continues.
Here are three takeaways:
A team in free fall
From a basketball performance standpoint, Monday was this season’s rock bottom for the Warriors.
Yes, there is the built in excuse that they were sitting Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Otto Porter Jr. Yes, Stephen Curry is still out with a foot injury. Yes, they were on the second night of a back-to-back and their fourth game in six nights.
But the Warriors were not competitive on Monday, and were embarrassed by a Memphis team that was also without its two best players in Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson.
No matter how many reasons you want to give, there is no denying that the Warriors are in a bad place heading into the postseason.
Honestly, there’s not a ton of value in getting into the minutiae of this one. Simply put, everything was bad. Golden State shot 40.7% from the field at 31% from deep while allowing Memphis to go 40% from beyond the stripe. They committed 15 turnovers to 18 assists. They were physically dominated by Dillion Brooks (21 points in 22 minutes) and refused to guard De’anthony Melton (21 points in 21 minutes, 5-of-9 from 3).
The second quarter is where things really went south, with Golden State getting outscored 43-21. In the other three quarters, the Warriors were only outscored by six total points.
It’s one thing to not expect the super undermanned Warriors to win, but it’s a bad sign to see role players look this bad with the playoffs just two weeks away. If Golden State’s bench shoots like this in the postseason, they won’t last long.
It was just a brutal night all around, and one the Warriors would do well to forget.
Steve Kerr ejected after going ballistic
After watching that first half, you’d be on edge too.
Steve Kerr was ejected on Monday after perhaps the most pathetic first half of basketball the Warriors have put together this season. Kerr earned two quick technical fouls when he went ballistic reacting to what he thought was an uncalled goaltend.
Perhaps Kerr was trying to send a message. Perhaps he was already so pissed at the Warriors trailing 63-37 after 24 minutes, he was a powder keg ready to blow. Perhaps he just didn’t feel like watching the second half.
Most likely it was some combination of all three, and also reflected how most Warriors fans are feeling right now.
Andre returns to boos
The Grizzlies fans at the FedExForum were excited for the return of Andre Iguodala after 21 games, albeit for a different reason than Warriors fans. It provided their first chance to boo Iguodala every time he touched the ball, payback for Andre’s decision not to play for Memphis after he was traded by the Warriors for cap purposes three seasons ago.
The booing didn’t seem to phase the 38-year-old veteran, who calmly knocked down his first 3-pointer just seconds after checking in, giving a shrug to the crowd as he ran back down the court.
Iguodala, who has also missed 30 of the last 32 games, looked solid in his return with 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in just 16 minutes. He was also the only Warrior who finished with a positive plus-minus (+2).
Hopefully Andre can provide a stabilizing force to the second unit with Curry out, and a key two-way weapon in the postseason with the Warriors back at full strength. Still on a minutes restriction, it will take a few more games to get a better idea of what version of Iguodala Golden State is getting for the stretch run.