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The Golden State Warriors squandered a huge night from Steph Curry on Tuesday, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder 137-128. Here are three key reactions from yet another humbling road defeat for the defending champions.
Golden State gets roasted on-ball again and again and again
Don't be fooled by the Thunder's lack of national notoriety beyond Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Even with standout rookie wing Jalen Williams sidelined, Oklahoma City is extremely difficult to defend, spacing the floor with five shooters while always playing two or more high-level on-ball creators.
The Thunder don't lead the league in drives and rank fourth in location effective field goal percentage by accident. They're for real, even a full season ahead of schedule and waiting patiently for injured No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren to make his NBA debut in 2023-24.
It wasn't always a lack of defensive teeth that prevented the Dubs from containing the ball on Tuesday. Their defensive effort and execution definitely ramped up at times throughout the game. But there's no obscuring what's plain as the eye can see on film: Golden State just didn't fight hard enough or maintain enough focus to keep the ball in front, a death-knell against the Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander catches Jonathan Kuminga and Klay Thompson peering back toward the screen in the clips below, quickly rejecting the action for uncontested layups on the exact same small-small pick-and-roll.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey often didn't need the threat of a ball screen to roast the Warriors' initial line of defense.
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On the many, many occasions Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey targeted Steph Curry, Jordan Poole and even Klay Thompson, though, the Thunder got pretty much whatever they wanted.
Golden State wasn't just killed at the point of attack. Its back-line help was wildly inconsistent, too.
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The Warriors didn't do much of anything well defensively on Tuesday.
Oklahoma City went 13-of-25 from three in the first half, raining triples after getting dribble penetration and spraying the ball out to shooters. Then the Thunder got to the free throw line a whopping 15 times in the third quarter alone after managing just two freebies over the game's first 24 minutes. Who needs to shoot threes when you can get to the rim at will? Not the Thunder, who went only 4-of-12 from deep after intermission, racking up points regardless.
This hair-pulling zone possession might be most indicative of Golden State's sweeping defensive struggles. Look how hopping mad Andre Iguodala is on the left block.
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The Warriors came into this game with a 120.4 defensive rating on the road, third-worst in basketball ahead of the tanking Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, per Cleaning the Glass. They hemorrhaged points at an even more alarming rate than that in Oklahoma City, finishing with a hideous 128.0 defensive rating while wasting another awesome outing from Curry in a loss.
Yet another awful Warriors start
The Thunder raced out to a double-digit lead just over three minutes into this game despite Kerr calling a quick timeout. Sound familiar? Tuesday's contest marked the sixth(!) straight time Golden State has fallen behind by 10 points or more in the first quarter, a stretch that dates back to the Warriors' comeback win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 26th.
Golden State dug itself that hole in a frustratingly recognizable manner, too, failing to meet Oklahoma City's edge and intensity on either end of the floor.
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Gilgeous-Alexander blew right by Kuminga for a pair of easy layups. Draymond shuffled his feet while catching the ball for a would-be two in transition. Klay Thompson air-balled an open catch-and-shoot three. Giddey swam around Kuminga for an offensive rebound as Curry stood by idly, then found Gilgeous-Alexander for another score. Curry tried a lazy pass to Kuminga on the roll, easy deflected by the Thunder for a steal.
The good news is the Warriors quickly came to their senses, fighting harder defensively after the first few minutes to get in the open floor and give them opportunities to attack a scrambling defense. Golden State creased the paint almost at will in the halfcourt, but it was certainly helpful the long ball suddenly started falling, too.
The score was tied at 24-24 when Curry found Andre Iguodala for a dunk off a no-look pass in transition, drawing a timeout from Mark Daigneault. But the Thunder proceeded to render Golden State's early rally moot, closing the first quarter by winning the battle of benches with red-hot three-point shooting.
By the time the clock struck all zeros, the Warriors were suddenly once again down double-digits, trailing 40-30 heading into the second quarter.
Rest assured Kerr and the coaching staff will continue emphasizing Golden State's dire need for better starts going forward. Maybe the most damning aspect of Tuesday's awful beginning? It wasn't even the Warriors' recent starting five that didn't come ready to play. Kuminga opened in Looney's normal spot, Golden State downsizing to match the Thunder with its veteran big man playing through back soreness.
Draymond Green's bizarre mid-possession tantrum
No one is doubting Draymond's competitive fire. As much as peerless two-way genius has helped him compensate for certain skill and physical deficiencies over the course of his career, Green's ever-running motor and palpable will to win have also charted his path toward the Hall-of-Fame.
But the Warriors are right in the thick of a heated, overcrowded playoff race, still searching for any signs of positive consistency on the road in wake of another five-game home winning streak. They can only afford his mid-game tantrums toward officiating so much right now; what the Dubs definitely can't survive is their emotional leader simply quitting halfway through a possession.
How else do you describe what Draymond does on this offensive trip late in the first half?
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There's no possible explanation here that absolves Green of blame. Even without knowing exactly what happened, it seems pretty obvious exasperation overcame him as Green heard shouted instructions from the Warriors bench after cutting into open space following Isaiah Joe's tumble and Oklahoma City's subsequent defensive rotations.
Was Kenny Atkinson pointing for Green to stay beyond the arc so he could screen away for Curry without a help defender in sight? Either way, his defiant, slow-motion saunter toward Curry cost Golden State a turnover. Green isn't even in the frame after the Thunder miss a third straight shot at the basket on the other end, either.
One possession doesn't make a game-long performance, obviously. Green was no less engaged than he typically is for pretty much every other possession against Oklahoma City. Considering the Warriors are still at risk of falling into the play-in tournament, their dire road straits all season plus his ironclad place as this team's emotional and competitive tone-setter, Green's in-game quit is indefensible.
It hurt Golden State on the scoreboard, too. The Warriors could've taken the lead on that possession if Green didn't give up. Instead, they entered intermission down four, losing some key momentum heading into the locker room.
