Warriors believe they have first-place problems
Amid the most successful regular season the NBA has ever witnessed, the Warriors are mad.
Instead of celebrating their place in yet another piece of basketball history, the Warriors sulked around the postgame locker room as if they were just waiting to be asked:
“We’re throwing the ball all over the place, me included, and defensively, we’re getting back-cut, we’re losing guys and we’re not getting the second effort,” said center and habitual voice of reason Andrew Bogut.
Head coach Steve Kerr is “getting on us a little bit, just to make sure we’re starting to play the right way.”
Putting aside the possibility of winning a single-season-record 73 games during the regular season, the Warriors want to be playing their best ball when it comes time to defend their championship in April, May and June.
“We’re going to have turnovers with the way we play,” said point guard and ever-optimistic Stephen Curry.
There are going to be some when we’re trying to make the right play or our intention was good, but we just don’t execute it.
The recent turnover deluge has the Warriors in trouble in one of the most important statistics: point differential.
For the season, they’re a remarkable plus-10.7, but only plus-1.4 since the All-Star break.
“Our defense is suffering because of our offense,” said power forward Draymond Green, who found the energy to shoot it straight, even after needing intravenous fluids to play through strep throat.
If you can’t get the defense set, you’re fouling to stop the ball.
All of sudden, you’re in the penalty and sitting there at the free-throw line.
The first-time All-Star is down from 13.5 points before the break to 10.1 since and is taking 1.2 shots per game.
The Warriors and Jazz could meet in the first round of the playoffs.
The Warriors went into Tuesday’s games with a 3½-game lead over San Antonio atop the Western Conference, and Utah was 1½ games back of Houston for the conference’s eighth postseason berth.
The Jazz averaged 90.2 points during a season-long, five-game skid from Feb. 25-Friday.
Stephen Curry became the first player ever to make 300 three-pointers in a season Monday.
Point guard Shelvin Mack averaged 11.3 points, 3.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in his first eight games after being dealt to Jazz at the trade deadline.