On the heels of their most impressive performance of young season, the Warriors crashed back to Earth on Friday night, in an embarrassing 117-97 beatdown at the hands of Luke Walton’s upstart Los Angeles Lakers.
As was the case for much of Golden State’s first three games, Kevin Durant was the only Warriors sharpshooter that came close to meeting expectations, and the team as a whole looked half-asleep in their first back-to-back of the season.
Primarily, Friday’s performance threw a wrench in the steady upward trajectory that Golden State seemed to be riding through their first five games, in what was probably the team’s worst overall showing since they last faced the Lakers at Staples in a head-scratching 112-95 loss last season.
Here are the three big takeaways from Friday night’s letdown.
1. Three point struggles continue
The 2015-16 Warriors made more three-pointers than any team in NBA history, yet by watching this year’s iteration through the first six games, that fact seems laughable. Golden State has started out the season shooting an anemic 29.8 percent from beyond the arc and were even worse on Friday, going 5-32 from deep.
Ironically, the Splash Brothers were the primary culprits against Los Angeles, combining to go 2-of-20 from distance, with Stephen Curry ending his streak of 157 games with a three-pointer made. Perhaps strangest of all is that many of the Warriors’ looks were wide open, especially for the struggling Klay Thompson, whose confidence and overall play continues to swoon, shooting threes at a 19.6 percent clip to start the season.
We all expect these numbers to pick up, and it would be rash at this point to chalk the struggles to anything more than shots just not falling. If the Warriors continue to miss good looks with regularity for much longer, however, people are going to start asking questions.
2. Walton gives Warriors taste of their own medicine
The Warriors free-flowing, ball movement offense that was so effective last year was on display for the first time last night. Only problem? It was the Lakers who were running it. Safe to say head coach Luke Walton is applying much of what he learned under Steve Kerr with his new team, and it’s already starting to bear fruit. Golden State’s defense looked utterly confused all evening, and frankly a step slow, trying to keep up with the consistent motion of the athletic Lakers, and were exposed nearly every time Los Angles made any penetration into the key.
Part of the issues defensively seem to be stemming from the Warriors’ ineffectiveness on the offensive end, especially for Thompson who was late on a number of defensive switches, and reprimanded more than once by a furious Draymond Green. Though the offense always grabs the headlines, defense has been what’s made the Warriors championship caliber over the last two seasons, and their issues at that end continue to be the most concerning problem for this year’s team.
3. Looney may be the answer at the five
Our Warriors beat writer Kevin Jones wrote last month that Kevon Looney may prove to be the x-factor for the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, and the 20-year-old again impressed on both ends in 13 productive minutes. Looney seems to have an exceptional natural feel for the game both positionally and instinctually, and has shown great patience and touch around the rim, going 5-for-5 with 11 points on Friday.
“I’m comfortable with what they want me to do, rebounding, rolling hard,” Looney said after the game. “I’m getting comfortable playing with the guys, so I know where to be, what to expect.”
Looney also showed an ability to run the floor, something that Golden State has to start doing more consistently to reach their potential. Looney is still limited as he recovers from multiple hip surgeries, but at this point, looks like an upgrade from Zaza Pachulia on both ends. Expect Looney to continue to get increased time, especially if the defensive struggles continue.