NBA – Facing Portland, the Warriors wanted too much to look for the 3-point shot late in the game. Result: they again lost a match completely within their limits…
The Warriors have proven in recent years that this is not necessarily true, with no less than four titles in eight years… But this season, their obsession with 3-point shooting has already cost them several games. Including that of last night against Portland.
“We need easy points”
In the last six minutes of the game against the Blazers, the Warriors actually chained 11 straight possessions without a single point! Five minutes of play without scoring which were obviously fatal for them, with a certain propensity to refuse the game and persist in wanting to hit beyond the arc.
“We had several chances to go to the lay-up at the end of the match and I would have preferred that we go there instead of constantly looking for 3-point shots”confirme Steve Kerr dans The Athletic. “We need easy points too. As we are not going to the line of throws, if the lay-ups are open, we must take them. It’s something we’re going to talk about in the next few days. »
Several times in the last quarter, the Dubs thus looked like a caricature of a “jumpshooting team”. Served under the circle, Draymond Green was for example all alone but he refused the small open lay-up for a pass to Klay Thompson who just missed the 3-pointer.
Later, at -4 about twenty seconds from the end of the match, it was Donte DiVincenzo who inherited the leather and also missed from afar while the Warriors were three against one after a “press” which lost the ball to Anfernee Simons in his own half…
In the third quarter, Donte DiVincenzo had also refused to go to the circle after overflowing his direct opponent, visibly embarrassed by Jerami Grant who was watching the grain under the circle. Amazing knowing that the same DiVicenzo had simply posterized Drew Eubanks in the first half!
“I went to see the action again. I did indeed have a wide open layup, but they are so athletic near the circle,” justified the Warrior. “It’s not necessarily that we are looking for 3-pointers, but we also knew that they helped on penetrations to counter shots. It is reading. But I don’t believe at all that we are looking for the 3-pointers at all costs. »
“We make too many mistakes that we don’t need to make”
Another concern that plagued the Warriors: their inability to cause fouls and do justice to the free throw line. With 32 shots for the Blazers (including 16 for Damian Lillard alone) against 10 for Golden State, Steve Kerr could actually curse against a certain lack of aggressiveness in such a tight game.
“They had 32 shots against our 10. It’s hard to win like that. This is a subject that we have already talked about this season. But 31-9 on shots is too much to overcome. You have to make a ton of 3-point shots. What we did. You also have to win the battle of stray bullets. What we did. But even with that, it was tight. And to pass in front, we must return all our shots. »
Stuck at 20 shots per game this season, the Warriors are simply one of the teams that go the least on the line. To make matters worse, it is also the team that sends the opponent the most to the penalty line, with 26 conceded per game on average.
“We have to stop looking for the interception. We make too many mistakes that we don’t need to make.” concluded Steve Kerr. “For the last five or six years, the game has been tilted in favor of the striker on penetrations. It’s a huge advantage to be able to pick up speed and create play. Damian Lillard did it very well with 16 shots. He is very intelligent, he gets into the paint and he provokes the whistle of the referees. When we have to suppress that, added to the fact that we do not create throws on our side, it is difficult to win. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts |
| Stephen Curry | 38 | 34.6 | 49.5 | 42.7 | 92.2 | 0.6 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 29.4 |
| Klay Thompson | 42 | 32.6 | 42.3 | 40.5 | 90.5 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 21.3 |
| Jordan Poole | 54 | 30.4 | 43.7 | 32.8 | 86.1 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 20.5 |
| Andrew Wiggins | 34 | 31.9 | 47.1 | 39.0 | 58.8 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 16.9 |
| Don Vincent | 44 | 25.0 | 42.6 | 40.8 | 81.1 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 8.6 |
| Jonathan Kuminga | 42 | 19.4 | 50.0 | 32.9 | 64.2 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 8.5 |
| Draymond Green | 48 | 31.7 | 51.5 | 33.0 | 68.8 | 0.8 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 6.8 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 8.1 |
| Anthony Lamb | 42 | 19.3 | 50.5 | 40.1 | 75.0 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 7.2 |
| You Jerome | 32 | 17.8 | 49.1 | 40.6 | 93.1 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 7.0 |
| James Wiseman | 21 | 12.5 | 62.8 | 50.0 | 68.4 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 6.9 |
| Kevon Looney | 54 | 23.3 | 64.4 | 0.0 | 61.6 | 3.0 | 5.6 | 8.6 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 6.8 |
| Jamychal Green | 34 | 14.8 | 53.4 | 32.8 | 73.2 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 6.6 |
| Patrick Baldwin, Jr. | 15 | 8.5 | 43.5 | 44.9 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 5.3 |
| Moses Moody | 41 | 14.7 | 44.4 | 35.3 | 70.3 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 5.0 |
| Andre Iguodala | 3 | 14.1 | 75.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 2.3 |
| Ryan Rollins | 12 | 5.2 | 35.0 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1.9 |