The Warriors fall to 3-6 after a road loss to the Orlando Magic, no, really!
Can you guess what happened in tonight's game? You'd be well within your rights not to want to read more about the game, but I talk about it in excruciating detail.
Nine games into the season, the Warriors have yet to win a road game and now have a record of 3-6 after losing their third straight game, each one in an increasingly frustrating fashion. Plenty of things went wrong tonight for the Warriors. We’ll get to that in a second. First, let’s discuss what went well and marvel at how little of a difference those good things made:
Steph Curry had 39 points and 8 made threes tonight.
Klay Thompson shot 7/15 from three and gave the Warriors one last chance to win the game after hitting a huge three with 29 seconds left to trim the Magic’s lead to one point.
Draymond Green played great defense tonight, including a dominant stretch in the fourth quarter where he flew around and made huge plays despite having five fouls for most of the period.
Kevon Looney scored a regular season career-high 17 points tonight.
But in the end, what undid the Warriors was an all too familiar cocktail of suck; terrible bench play, excessive and egregious fouling, turnovers, and inability to control the glass.
The Warriors opened up the night strong. Klay Thompson hit three threes in the first four minutes of the game, the Warriors’ defense was disciplined and strong, and the Warriors didn’t look outsized or outclassed by a large and physically imposing Magic team. But after James Wiseman came in, the Warriors started picking up fouls — not all of these were Wiseman’s fault, but this is a familiar theme — and the Magic gained enough momentum to tie the game by the end of the period.
The Warriors got better second-quarter minutes out of Wiseman, this time featuring him in lineups with several starters, but in the third quarter, his minutes were disastrous and the Warriors’ offense stagnated as they tried to feature him in pick-and-rolls, much to the obvious frustration of Steph Curry. As was the case in the late first quarter, the Magic’s run during Wiseman’s minutes gave them a clear emotional edge and the Warriors compounded things by committing four fouls in less than two minutes to start the quarter and repeatedly got bullied on the offensive glass.
As has long been the case, the Warriors’ offense in non-Steph Curry minutes has been ugly. The emergence of Jordan Poole was supposed to be an antidote to weak bench offense, but through 9 games, that hasn’t been the case. Part of that is on Poole, no doubt, who has been prone to over-dribbling and has been unusually bad around the rim. But the bigger issue is that there is no obvious fix to the Warriors’ second-unit woes, at least not without a significant roster shakeup.
It only took five games for Steve Kerr to abandon the much-hyped (I’m looking at you, Tim Kawakami) second-unit offense centered around Jordan Poole and James Wiseman pick-and-rolls — history tells us that the Warriors can gameplan around and survive the presence of one bad defender at a time, but two of them (Poole and Wiseman) is a bridge too far for Steve Kerr. The flaws of the Poole/Wiseman-centric second unit forced Kerr to get creative and the solution he has stumbled upon is a dual-ballhandler lineup with Jordan Poole and Ty Jerome in the backcourt, flanked by one of Andrew Wiggins or Moses Moody, and a JaMychal Green and Kevon Looney backcourt.
Clearly, Kerr values the defensive stability that Looney provides, and although you wouldn’t expect it, the bench lineup with JaMychal Green and Looney in the frontcourt has performed well and has a well above-average ORTG:
As our friend, @fakelogic, points out, Jerome’s contract status complicates things. Perhaps the return of Donte DiVincenzo helps that second unit hum with him in place of Jerome, although I am skeptical that DDV’s shaky shot and increasingly poor finishing (he was below 50% in the restricted area last season after a progressive decline in each of his four NBA seasons) make him all that useful on offense.
In any event, that iteration of the Warriors’ second unit has been solid. But because of fouls up and down the frontcourt, Steve Kerr had to turn to a Poole/Jerome/Thompson/Wiggins/J. Green lineup for much of the Warriors’ non-Steph minutes in the fourth quarter. Although I’d have expected that lineup to play well together due to superior spacing compared to the JMG/Looney frontcourt, that lineup got crushed in its minutes and committed several brutal fouls.
JaMychal Green had five fouls in just 16 minutes, and his final foul of the night, which put the Magic at the line with 7:53 left in the game, was particularly pointless and infuriating. I’d been looking forward to JaMychal playing minutes at the center (and hopefully with Jonathan Kuminga who should, theoretically, benefit from JMG’s floor spacing), but tonight it didn’t work and repeatedly fouled or failed to grab rebounds against an unusually tall Magic team.
JaMychal Green wasn’t the only veteran that committed several dumb fouls or made ugly mistakes. Klay Thompson reached a few times on defense; Andrew Wiggins botched a layup late in the fourth quarter; Draymond Green picked up a dumb technical foul after some Marcus Smart/Chris Paul WWE fuckery failed to fool the refs, who correctly figured out that he’d pulled down Wendell Carter Jr. with his arm; Steph Curry made two costly turnovers in crunch time that took away valuable shots in the final minute of the game.
But as I’ve said on Twitter and in other articles, these vets are battle tested and they have a track record of winning and bringing in banners. The Warriors’ youth, who have been prioritized at the expense of reliable, proven veterans, do not have that track record, and until their minutes stop being so damaging, it’s unlikely things will get better.
It’s not entirely on James Wiseman that the Warriors committed three fouls in the two minutes he played in the first quarter, which sent the Magic to the free-throw line three times. But at a certain point, you have to face reality and what it is telling us is that opposing teams frequently go on runs during Wiseman’s minutes, and those runs spur opposing teams’ confidence. Those runs, in turn, have the Warriors veterans in the position of having to play hard as hell to get their lead back in the last three games, they’ve run out of gas at the end trying to close the game out.
What changes may come? Personally, I’d advocate for a merciful end to the Wiseman experiment. He and the rest of the Warriors look miserable trying to get him up to speed and because he plays on the most famous NBA team of the last decade, Wiseman is under an unusual and cruel amount of scrutiny for his every move. I would be a weeping, anxious mess if I had 1/20th of the attention he has — that’s why I didn’t even bother applying to the SF Chronicle’s Warriors’ beat writer position — and I’m 28 years old. I can’t imagine being Wiseman right now and I’d imagine that he’s starting to imagine what it would be like to play anywhere but Golden State, and instead play somewhere where he can grow into an NBA player at his own pace.
Right now, Wiseman is not an NBA player and he’s getting minutes at the expense of another prospect, Jonathan Kuminga, who has, at least, proven his utility alongside the Warriors’ veteran core. I can’t imagine Kuminga will have much more patience for the Wiseman experiment, let alone the Warriors’ veteran players, who would no doubt prefer some proven running mates. For now, we can hope that the Warriors turn things around. I’m skeptical that’s going to happen without significant changes, but tomorrow is a new day, and the Warriors face off against the New Orleans Pelicans on the road tomorrow night. I fully expect the Warriors to lose that game and maybe, just maybe, a 3-7 record to start the season following a hard-won championship will force some serious soul-searching amongst the Warriors’ coaching staff and front office about their goals for this season.
Rotation watch:
1st Q:
12:00 — Curry/Thompson/Wiggins/D. Green/Looney: 0-0, tie game.
4:59 — Curry/Poole/Wiggins/D. Green/Wiseman: 23-17, Warriors lead.
3:58 — Curry/Poole/Moody/J. Green/Wiseman: 25-22, Warriors lead.
2:30 — Curry/Poole/Moody/J. Green/Looney: 27-25, Warriors lead.
1:11 — Poole/Jerome/Moody/J. Green/Looney: 27-27, tie game.
Before the Magic took their first timeout of the night, the Warriors had hit four shots from deep and put together several possessions of focused defense. Jalen Suggs and Bol Bol both hit difficult shots against tough defenders, Suggs’ on a drive and Bol in the post, but defensive possessions like these helped the Warriors get out in transition and cause chaos:
At the 4:59 mark of the first period, James Wiseman and Jordan Poole checked into the game. Within a minute-and-a-half, the Warriors’ six-point lead was down to one point. The Warriors, who had already committed three fouls prior to Wiseman’s entrance, committed another three fouls during his stint; Wiseman picked up a reaching foul defending a Franz Wagner-led pick-and-roll, JaMychal Green had his own reaching foul, and Jordan Poole picked up an unavoidable foul on this seal by Wendell Carter Jr:
At the 2:30 mark of the period, Steve Kerr subbed Kevon Looney back into the game to replace James Wiseman. About thirty seconds before Kerr pulled Wiseman, he was a part of this turnover by Steph Curry, which was preceded by Wiseman actively avoiding contact on what should have been a pindown screen for Steph Curry:
In the final minute of the first quarter, JaMychal Green made a forceful block of an otherwise easy Magic layup and followed that up with a layup assisted by Steph Curry, which tied the game up at the end of the period.
2nd Q:
12:00 —Poole/Jerome/Wiggins/J. Green/Looney: 30-30, tie game.
7:27 — Poole/Thompson/Wiggins/D. Green/Wiseman: 42-38, Warriors lead.
7:12 —Poole/Thompson/Wiggins/D. Green/Wiseman: 44-38, Warriors lead.
5:59 — Curry/Moody/Thompson/D. Green/Wiseman: 47-40, Warriors lead.
3:19 — Curry/Poole/Thompson/Wiggins/D. Green: 54-46, Warriors lead.
0:04 — Curry/Poole/Thompson/Wiggins/Looney: 65-53, Warriors lead.
In the first five or so non-Steph minutes of the second quarter, all six of the Warriors’ made field goals came around the basket. JaMychal Green and Kevon Looney each scored on tip-ins, Jordan Poole and Ty Jerome each a driving layup, and then Andrew Wiggins scored consecutive buckets in the post, one after James Wiseman came back into the game at the 7:217 mark of the period.
It was remarkable that the Warriors managed to build a lead during their non-Steph minutes, considering how poor their spacing was. This play was one such example:
The Warriors’ spacing improved, predictably, when Steve Kerr turned to a lineup of Curry/Moody/Thompson/Dray/Wiseman during Wiseman’s second-quarter minutes. Klay Thompson hit a bailout three, followed by a Steph Curry three, and a few possessions later, Wiseman ran a dribble hand-off with Thompson that ended in a swished midrange jumper. The Warriors’ second-quarter Wiseman stint went far better than the first — the score was 44-38 when he checked in and 54-46 when he checked out — but the Magic did find success attacking Wiseman at the rim and scored two relatively easy buckets on shots that he contested.
In the final minutes of the quarter, Steve Kerr turned to the Nickname Lineup and for the first time in a few games, they won their minutes, thanks to back-to-back threes by Steph Curry and a Draymond Green dunk out of a fake hand-off with Curry. One last notable thing about the Nickname Lineup’s minutes — Jordan Poole missed two layups and a free throw and has still struggled to find a good rhythm on offense, even in lineups with favorable spacing.
3rd Q:
12:00 — Curry/Thompson/Wiggins/D. Green/Looney: 65-53, Warriors lead.
6:35 — Curry/Poole/Thompson/Wiggins/Looney: 81-70, Warriors lead.
5:01 — Curry/Poole/Moody/Thompson/Looney: 84-75, Warriors lead.
3:42 — Curry/Poole/Moody/J. Green/Wiseman: 90-79, Warriors lead.
0:45 — Curry/Poole/Moody/D. Green/J. Green: 96-91, Warriors lead.
0:08 — Curry/Poole/Thompson/D. Green/J. Green: 98-96, Warriors lead.
A little more than minutes through the third quarter, the Warriors had already scored a quick eight points and picked up three fouls. The Magic opened the second half in a zone defense, which Draymond Green punctured to create an easy dunk and easy three for Kevon Looney and Klay Thompson. But by the time the Warriors took a timeout at the 6:44 mark and made their first subs of the quarter, the Magic had trimmed a lead that got as high as 16 points down to just 11, due in large part to an offensive explosion by Paolo Banchero, who scored 6 points in 81 seconds against Andrew Wiggins:
At the 3:42 mark of the period, James Wiseman came in for his first minutes of the second half. The Warriors led by 11 points when Wiseman came in and when he came out after giving up an offensive rebound to the 6’6 Kevon Harris, fouling him on an and-1, and picking up a technical foul in the process, that lead was down to 6 points. Things got worse after that — the Magic made their technical free-throw, but when Harris missed his free throw, the Magic got another offensive rebound, and RJ Hampton stuck the dagger in with an ugly, banked three-pointer, which put the Magic within two points and gave them 7 points in 6 seconds.
Wiseman’s minutes gave the Magic much-needed momentum and they also had the effect of stalling out the Warriors’ offense. The Warriors scored made just two field goals in the nearly three points that Wiseman played in the third quarter, both of which came on plays where they didn’t seek the third-year big man for pick and rolls or dribble handoffs. This play, where the Warriors did involve Wiseman, was one of several stagnant offensive possessions (take note also of a very annoyed Steph Curry on this play):
4th Q:
12:00 —Poole/Jerome/Wiggins/D. Green/J. Green: 98-96, Warriors lead.
11:06 —Poole/Jerome/Thompson/Wiggins/J. Green: 98-99, Magic lead.
7:53 —Curry/Jerome/Thompson/D. Green/Looney: 104-109, Magic lead.
4:29 — Curry/Thompson/Wiggins/D. Green/Looney: 113-115, Magic lead.
0:31 — Curry/Poole/Jerome/Thompson/Wiggins: 126-130, Magic lead.
Less than two into the fourth quarter, Klay Thompson picked up his fourth foul of the game on the Warriors’ fourth foul of the quarter. At the 8:19 mark, Ty Jerome was called for foul defending a Paolo Banchero transition drive, which put the Magic in the bonus, and Steve Kerr picked up a technical foul disputing the call. Less than 30 seconds later, JaMychal Green picked up his fifth foul of the night on an exceedingly dumb and unnecessary foul of Banchero in transition. At that point, Steve Kerr brought Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney back into the game, the latter two of whom also had five fouls.
With the spacing a little cleaner, the Warriors found some momentum; Klay Thompson assisted a bucket for Kevon Looney off of a pindown screen, Draymond Green made a tough layup in transition, and then Ty Jerome, still in with Warriors’ core players, made a huge assist to Kevon Looney to trim the Magic’s lead to three points:
At the 3:27 mark of the fourth quarter, Draymond Green faked a handoff with Steph Curry and came barrelling down the lane for a huge one-handed dunk and was fouled by Jalen Suggs in the process. That dunk capped a 13-4 run in nearly four minutes and Draymond followed that up with a huge defensive play against Paolo Banchero, who tried to bruise his way to a bucket in the post:
Steph Curry gave the Warriors a lead on a pull-up jumper in isolation at the three-minute mark and after Banchero scored a bucket in the post, Curry took and made another jumper in isolation to put the score at 120-119. The Magic took their lead back on a wide-open Jalen Suggs three — nobody on the Warriors seemed particularly intent on guarding him and they paid the price — and at the 1:35 mark, Curry was fouled shooting a three-pointer and hit all three free throws after the Magic’s challenged of the foul was unsuccessful.
The comfort of Curry’s free throws or his 8th made three of the night with 59 seconds left didn’t matter in the end because Jalen Suggs happened. Suggs picked up a foul on Steph Curry and made two free throws after stealing an errant pass by Steph, he put the Magic up three points with 37 seconds left after he hit a deep three in isolation against Klay Thompson, and then he picked off another errant pass by Steph and drew Draymond Green’s sixth foul of the game with 31 seconds left. Klay Thompson hit an incredible three to put the Warriors within a point and that gave the Warriors one more possession after Paolo Banchero turned the ball over with 4.9 seconds left, but the Magic threw a well-timed double team at Steph, who kicked it out to Klay, who scrambled and took a one-footed floater that hit off the rim.