The Warriors again collapsed late in the game

Facing Denver, it was the « Hack-a-Looney » and several defensive errors that cost the tired Dubs the game just before the All-Star Game was cut. Last night, they had continued their momentum from their great victory against Portland on Thursday to take a 21-point lead before liquefying in attack and defense.

Dominating for 36 minutes, Golden State again failed to adjust to the strategic change of its opponent. When Jason Kidd decided to play without inside to be able to « switch » on all the screens and cups of the Warriors, Steve Kerr’s attack then froze.

Only Steve Kerr’s second Warriors loss, in 206 games where they led by 20 points

The lack of pace and movement forced the Bay players to take tough shots and their skill nosedived. The Dubs indeed remained without scoring a basket for more than eight minutes and finished the last quarter at 5 of 21 on shots, including 2 of 11 from 3-pointers.

“When they started coming back, we lost our energy and our mindset,” explained Steve Kerr. “We let the momentum of the match slip away from us. The energy has flowed from their side on and off the pitch. Their bench was upright while our players had their heads down. »

This offensive nightmare also had repercussions on their defensive intensity. While they had limited Dallas to 74 points in the first three quarters, defensive rifts began to open, allowing the Mavs to regain confidence and get back into the game.

“Dinwiddie attacked the circle relentlessly and we suffered. We tried several combinations to stop them but nothing worked. » lamented the Warriors coach. “We missed open shots and they rushed into the breach.

The Warriors then entered a negative spiral. Their poor offensive choices allowed Dallas to attack the Warriors on their heels. Golden State then suffered pressure from Texas and chained their defensive errors, missing rotations or simply changing on the screens, allowing Luka Doncic, for example, to push Stephen Curry several times to find easy shots.

Use these games for the playoffs

They also had to deal with the Mavs defense in place for most of the last quarter. The Warriors have never managed to create advantageous situations. While Draymond Green’s eventual return should help address this issue, we’ve seen many times in the playoffs that Steve Kerr’s offense can become less effective against opponents accustomed to his team’s systems.

“We had some absentees so we ended close games with many combinations of players. Draymond, Andre (Iguodala), tonight Klay was absent, it’s hard to build habits,” explained Stephen Curry. “That said, we absolutely have to find a way to conserve our energy even when the shots don’t come in because in the playoffs we know that, at times, we will have to seek victories above all through our defense. And you can’t give up if your opponent starts to get the wind in their sails. »

Steve Kerr shared his leader’s analysis. If these last two defeats are a task, they must however be useful to make his team and in particular his young players understand that this kind of scenario is common during the playoffs and that you have to know how to react quickly.

“These last two games had a playoff flavor. That’s how it is when you play against a good team, the game is never over. » recalled Steve Kerr. “We made way too many concentration errors. We made mistakes, we were not present on the rotations to defend the circle. When they played small, our defense was shattered. It’s up to us to learn from this match to be stronger in the next one. »

Interview in San Francisco.