This one didn’t quite live up to the hype.
After Draymond Green’s evisceration of Dillon Brooks on social media Wednesday, the Warriors played catch-up all night on Thursday, ultimately losing 131-110 to the Grizzlies in Memphis.
Once again, Golden State fell into an early hole, and wasn’t nearly consistent enough to climb back out. The loss is the Warriors’ third straight on their road trip, and their first to the Grizzlies — who were without Ja Morant — this season. They’ve now lost eight straight on the road and are tied with the Wolves and Mavericks at 34-33 for the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds in the Western Conference.
Here are three takeaways:
Two bad stretches
The Warriors’ performance on Thursday was defined by two bad stretches. First, there was the absolute no-show to start the game. This is becoming routine. Golden State gave up 33 to the Lakers, 40 to the Thunder and 48 to the Grizzlies in their last three first quarters.
It took exactly one possession for the Warriors to have a defensive breakdown, when Xavier Tillman dunked the ball 15 seconds into the game after GS failed to communicate on a switch. This was a consistent problem to start. The Warriors lacked focus on both ends, and they paid for it, trailing 48-28 after 12 minutes.
Their second breakdown in the second quarter was even worse.
After starting the frame on a 21-7 run, thanks in large part to a unique lineup of Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ty Jerome and Draymond Green, the Warriors cut the Memphis lead to four.
Then they collapsed.
Memphis’ 57-53 lead turned into a 77-59 lead in the half’s final three and a half minutes. The Warriors completely lost their composure, turning the ball over four times and breaking down defensively. Jordan Poole and Donte DiVincenzo were particularly bad on both ends, posting minus-27 and minus-22 in the half respectively.
The Warriors have shown they can come back from one deficit this season, but two vs. a quality team is too much at the moment.
Not enough size
Part of the reason it’s too much is because Golden State is lacking in size and defensive fortitude. Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II continue to be out, and Jonathan Kuminga was a late scratch. The Grizzlies are one of the biggest teams around, so Steve Kerr decided to take a page out of Don Nelson’s playbook and start small.
It didn’t work.
The Warriors were outmatched on switches defensively, and didn’t help or rotate quick enough to mitigate the Grizzlies advantage. This led to a ton of open shots both in the lane and from beyond the 3-point line. Memphis shot 53 percent and 45 percent from deep. On the offensive end, the small lineup only works if the ball moves quickly. That didn’t happen either. Golden State struggled to generate offense, shooing 43 percent and 33 percent from deep.
The Warriors lost the rebounding battle 42-32 and didn’t know what to do with Jaren Jackson Jr. on either end. He finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and was a game-best plus-27.
Golden State is already small, but without Wiggins and Kuminga, they need elite play from their guards and wings to be competitive. Klay Thompson, Poole and DiVincenzo were all poor on Thursday, really leaving the Warriors with no chance to overcome the bigger and more focused Grizzlies.
Jonathan Kuminga pregame scare
What is going on in pregame warmups these days?
One day after Kevin Durant sustained a potentially significant injury to his ankle while attempting a layup pregame, Jonathan Kuminga rolled his ankle doing the same on Thursday in Memphis. Originally slated to play, Kuminga was ruled out after sustaining the injury.
Kuminga initially hurt the left ankle on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. The tweak was not enough to knock Kuminga out that night. The young forward returned and scored 21 points in the loss, his second-highest total of the season.
Kuminga joins Gary Payton II (back) and Andrew Wiggins (personal) to the list of unavailable players. He left the arena in a walking boot, but X-rays were negative.
Already lacking in the size and defense department, Kuminga was sorely missed on Thursday.