The Warriors win their fifth road game of the season against the Wizards... yay?
Jordan Poole and Steph Curry combine for 73 points to beat a Wizards team without Bradley Beal, Draymond Green has a huge fourth quarter, and Steve Kerr effectively turns to an 8-man rotation.
The last time the Warriors played a basketball game in Washington D.C., Steph Curry was out with a knee injury, and the Warriors’ season felt in peril. I was there for that game, a humiliating March 27 loss that featured a shooting barrage by Cory Kispert, Jordan Poole’s GOAT dribble move, and embarrassing foul-baiting and verbal berating of referees by Draymond Green. After that game, I tweeted something to the effect that the Warriors team I had just watched looked like a probable first-round exit. Thankfully, Steph Curry came back later in the season and the vibes got better, but it’s hard to understate just how bleak things felt after that game.
For most of tonight’s 127-118 victory against the Wizards, things felt bleak. In the first three quarters, Daniel Gafford and Kristaps Porzingis bullied the Warriors’ smaller defenders for easy interior buckets, particularly on smart play calls that ended with guards having to rotate as the low man or defend the low block. The Warriors, as they’ve done too much for comfort in recent games, were trigger-happy from three-point land for most of the game. Andrew Wiggins, who finished the game with 14 points, was particularly brutal from three and shot 1/6 from deep, including an airball and a few sideways bricks.
It wasn’t really until the fourth quarter that Wiggins and the rest of the Warriors made it a point to drive to the hoop or set up play actions that ended in shot attempts near the rim. The Warriors took 21 shots in the fourth quarter and while 8 of them were from three, most of them felt well-earned or like the logical conclusion to a solid offensive possession. Steph Curry shot 2/3 from deep in the fourth quarter and his two made threes gave the Warriors control of a game that they looked likely to lose. Draymond Green, who scored 17 points, was an unlikely source of offense in the fourth quarter and hit two huge threes early in the period when the Warriors trailed and it felt like the Wizards were about to run away with the game.
Of course, Green was also huge on the defensive end and his tight rotations helped an undersized Lamb/Green frontcourt survive crunch time while limiting interior buckets and not getting beat up on the glass. Despite the Warriors being without Klay Thompson, James Wiseman, JaMychal Green, and Jonathan Kuminga, plus Steve Kerr electing to give the 6’9 Patrick Baldwin Jr. a DNP, the Warriors were nearly even with the Wizards on the glass and grabbed 47 boards to the home team’s 48. This happened, despite no Warriors grabbing double-digit rebounds. Kevon Looney was the Warriors’ leading rebounder with 9 boards, but Jordan Poole and Steph Curry each grabbed 7 rebounds, and Donte DiVincenzo was typically solid on the glass with 5 boards.
That’s the good stuff, well most of it. I still haven’t talked much about Steph Curry or Jordan Poole. I’ll do that now as I remind you all of the bad of tonight’s game: the Warriors needed a 41-point night from Steph Curry and 32 points on 20 shots from Jordan Poole to beat a Wizards team that was missing Bradley Beal. Frontcourt reinforcements should be coming soon, in theory, but I really don’t think it’s sustainable to need supernova nights from the Warriors’ starting backcourt to beat a bad Wizards team. In time, Andrew Wiggins should get his legs under him. That will help the Warriors. So will Klay Thompson when he isn’t sitting out back-to-backs.
Thankfully, the Warriors have two nights of rest before their next game, a Thursday night battle at the TD Garden against the Boston Celtics. Maybe Jonathan Kuminga is back by then? A trade or 10-day contract for a frontcourt player before then would be nice too, but I know better than to get my hopes up. After facing the Celtics, the Warriors will play the 5th-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers the next night, so they will likely be without Klay Thompson. Given the Warriors’ obvious exhaustion, their pitiful and hilariously depleted frontcourt depth, and their road woes, Thursday and Friday night’s games are likely losses. But for now, I’ll appreciate tonight’s win, even if it’s concerning that the Warriors needed to pull out all the stops to move their road record to... just 5-17 on the season.
Random thoughts and observations:
Andrew Wiggins had never missed more than 10 games in a season prior to this season’s abductor injury. Wiggins looks out of his element right now trying to get back into the swing of things after an extended absence. He’s had some moments since his return — his rebounding late in the game against the Warriors’ depressing home loss to the Suns, for example — but it’s clear he’s not used to getting his rhythm back. Right now, Wiggins is chucking a bit from three. That makes sense — he was shooting 45% from three prior to his injury. But since his return, he’s just 5/26 from deep and he’s down to 40.6% from three on the season. Sound familiar? Well, Andrew Wiggins was shooting over 40% early last season too, but the extended absence of Draymond Green and the additional defensive responsibilities he picked up in his absence tanked his shooting — especially his free throws — until Dray came back. So this is to say, I think Wiggins would benefit from laying off the high-volume three-point shooting until his legs get settled. To that point, I liked how Wiggins played in the fourth quarter tonight. Steve Kerr pulled him early in the third quarter to set up an extended stint of fourth-quarter minutes and while Wiggins’ drives didn’t always (if ever) turn into layups, they punctured the Wizards’ defense just enough to create well-earned threes and drives for his teammates. I’d like to see Wiggins drive more but, I’ll remind you all that he was shooting a career-low 15.4% of his shots from 0-3 feet prior to tonight, and his share of shots at the rim has declined with each season in a Warriors’ uniform. All of this is to say, Wiggins needs to find ways to impact the game if his three-ball isn’t falling because he’s clearly becoming reliant on it as an offensive tool.
Donte DiVincenzo is also quite reliant on his three-point shot (any long-time or consistent readers of mine can confirm this), which frustrates me to no end because he’s otherwise a brilliant player. Tonight, however, DiVincenzo missed four of his threes and still finished the game with 11 points because he shot 5/5 on two-point field goals! DiVincenzo hit two layups, one on a drive that got him an and-one free throw and hit a pair of awkward half-jumpers/half-floaters that were assisted by other Warriors. I’d love to see DDV move towards a more equitable split of 2’s vs. 3’s and tonight was encouraging in that regard.
Moses Moody is someone who should be reliant on his three and make that a weapon for the Warriors. Tonight, he played just five unremarkable minutes where he missed his only three and then committed a rebounding foul trying to soar in for a tip-dunk that gave the Wizards free throws because they were already in the bonus.
I would have preferred Moody’s minutes go to Patrick Baldwin Jr., who is a more credible offensive threat than Moody right now and a more capable interior defender, but he got a surprising DNP. Steve Kerr was chasing wins tonight, I get that and commend it, but Kerr mentioned pre-game the Warriors needed to “lean on their depth.” I can’t really complain about a win, especially when the Warriors have two nights off before their next game, but a stint of PBJ minutes would have given me comfort, if only because it would have meant just a little less physical taxation of Draymond Green or Kevon Looney.
A quick shoutout to Daniel Gafford and Kyle Kuzma, two players I’ve wanted on the Warriors since last season. There was a point in time last spring when I frequently played with the trade machine to find trades that unloaded James Wiseman and reluctantly parted with Andrew Wiggins to bring Kuzma and Gafford onto the Warriors — this was assuming the Warriors would lose to the Grizzlies in the playoffs because I’m doom-pilled. Gafford is not a 7-footer, but he’s agile, explosive, and forceful around the hoop. He finished tonight with 14 points on 8 shots.
Kuzma was an inefficient 5/20 from the field (he only made one of his 8 two-point attempts tonight), but he grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. Back when I yearned for Kuzma, part of his appeal was his work on the glass (Andrew Wiggins does rebound well now, but that was not the case or something any reasonable person should have anticipated last spring) and his growing prowess as a playmaker. This season, Kuzma is averaging 21.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists a game on a bad team. While Kuzma is shooting just 33.9% from three, I’ll remind you all that we as Warriors fans have been lucky to watch Andrew Wiggins turn into a credible three-point shooter due in large part to the gravity-warping effects of Steph Curry. Would a Kuzma-type not benefit from a diet of open shots as Wiggins did? Would Kyle Kuzma not rack up even more assists in a system that prioritizes ball and player movement? Why wouldn’t Kuzma be able to get back to playing rugged defense, as he did during the Lakers’ bubble championship, on a better team where he isn’t a featured offensive option? To that point, Kuzma has a player option on his contract this summer and the Wizards — a perpetual 8-seed chasing team — apparently don’t want to trade him... but a hypothetical trade of James Wiseman, JaMychal Green, Moses Moody, and Ryan Rollins for Daniel Gafford and Kyle Kuzma works financially while also clearing up two roster spots that could then go to Anthony Lamb (ugh), Ty Jerome, or any relevant buyout candidates. Just saying.
Speaking of Lamb... I find his presence on the Warriors’ roster morally repulsive and he is also, unfortunately, a better frontcourt player than James Wiseman, JaMychal Green, or Moses Moody. Lamb was a team-best +36 in his minutes tonight and while he makes some obvious mistakes on defense overhelping and fouling shooters, there’s a reason Steve Kerr plays him — he can shoot and he’s an active defender who is brilliant at closing out on shooters and sometimes makes good rotations defending from the weak side. Would I like to see Lamb play fewer minutes or be off the team altogether? Absolutely. The best path to that, short of cutting him, is for the Warriors to simply... get players that are better than him. To that point, I bring up again, my Wiseman + JMG + Moody + Rollins for Gafford + Kuzma proposal.
Anthony Lamb played 24 minutes, Draymond Green played 35 minutes, and Kevon Looney played 27 minutes tonight. That’s the extent of the healthy frontcourt depth that Steve Kerr trusts right now. Apropos of nothing, here’s Draymond Green talking about what Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. brought to last year’s team as interior presences:
It’s notable — isn’t it? — that Draymond mentions the ease with which he and the other core Warriors’ veterans could throw lobs and interior passes to Gary Payton II for shot attempts and dunks at the rim. Draymond notes that the Warriors don’t have that on this team. This is not an explicit criticism of James Wiseman by Draymond, but I’ve got a bridge to sell you if you think that Steph Curry and Draymond Green magically forgot how to throw lobs to aerial threats over the course of just one offseason.
Rotation watch:
1st Q:
12:00 — Curry/Poole/Wiggins/D. Green/Looney: 0-0, tie game.
6:49 — Curry/Jerome/Wiggins/Lamb/D. Green: 9-12, Wizards lead.
4:21 — Curry/Jerome/DiVincenzo/Lamb/Looney: 16-21, Wizards lead.
0:26 — Curry/Jerome/Poole/Lamb/Looney: 33-29, Warriors lead.
Through the first five minutes of the game, the Warriors took 8 threes and trailed 9-12. Andrew Wiggins hit his first three of the game and then proceeded to miss his next four shots, Jordan Poole hit a three in the left corner assisted by Wiggins, and Steph Curry hit a three out of a pick-and-roll. But while the Warriors took three shots inside the three-point line as opposed to 8 from deep, the Wizards had a far more balanced diet of shots. Kristaps Porzingis and Monte Morris each hit a three, but Daniel Gafford scored twice, first on a spinning hook shot, and then later on an assisted dunk at the hoop.
In those first minutes, the Warriors — more specifically, Kevon Looney — grabbed three offensive rebounds, but all of those extra opportunities turned into three-point shots. After Steve Kerr subbed in Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome, Andrew Wiggins hit the Warriors’ first two-point field goal of the night on a mid-range jumper from the middle of the floor. On the next possession down, Steph Curry hit an and-one layup for the Warriors’ first lead of the night. You can see that play below:
The Wizards’ took their lead back just over 30 seconds later after a Kristaps Porzingis mid-range jumper and a cutting layup by Deni Advjia. The Warriors called a timeout at the 4:21 mark after Porzingis attacked a Draymond Green closeout and got an and-one layup against a rotating Ty Jerome for his 11th points of the quarter.
Donte DiVincenzo and Kevon Looney checked into the game after that stoppage and then Anthony Lamb hit two straight threes, including one fading his right after pulling up off-the-dribble with the shot clock winding down. But even subbing Kevon Looney back into the game did little to stop Kristaps Porzingis, who got another and-one at Ty Jerome’s expense, this time switched in the post.
The Warriors tied the game with a pair of Steph Curry free throws and then got their lead back on a Donte DiVincenzo mid-range jumper. At that point, Steph Curry went on a min-run, which was fueled in part, by two excellent defensive possessions where he was switched onto Deni Advjia and then, Rui Harchimura. Curry hit a pull-up three over Porzingis after his stop on Advjia, hit a pair of free-throws to put the Warriors up 31-24, and then drove for a layup with 59 seconds left to give the Warriors 33 points in the quarter. But after Kevon Looney tipped in a missed Steph Curry jumper with 1.6 seconds left in the period, Kyle Kuzma dribbled through multiple defenders to hit a half-court buzzer-beating three that got the Wizards within two points to end the quarter.
2nd Q:
12:00 — Poole/DiVincenzo/Moody/Wiggins/D. Green: 35-33, Warriors lead.
7:28 — Poole/DiVincenzo/Moody/Wiggins/Looney: 46-43, Warriors lead.
6:37 — Curry/Poole/DiVincenzo/Wiggins/Looney: 48-47, Warriors lead.
5:36 — Curry/Poole/Wiggins/D. Green/Looney: 48-49, Warriors lead.
2:16 — Curry/Poole/DiVincenzo/Lamb/D. Green: 56-62, Warriors lead.
The Warriors opened the period with a very small lineup. Notably, that lineup did not feature Patrick Baldwin Jr., who gave the Warriors good minutes during their homestand. When the Warriors made their first subs at the 7:28 mark, they still led 46-43. But it felt like that lead should have been higher. Jordan Poole scored 7 points before that substitution, including two highlight-reel-worthy plays, but he also turned the ball over twice, which led to easy Wizards buckets. You can see some of the good and bad of the Jordan Poole show below:
The Warriors played until the 6:37 mark of the period without Steph Curry and when he came back into the game, the Warriors led by just one point. In the possession prior, Moses Moody committed a rebounding foul crashing the offensive glass, which gave the Warriors five fouls on the period and put the Wizards at the free-throw line to tie the game. Another pair of free throws for Porzingis gave the Wizards a lead when Draymond Green subbed back into the game.
Porzingis gave the Warriors big problems in his second-quarter minutes as he shot 6 free throws from fouls accumulated on switches and drives, assisted a Rui Hachimura layup in transition, and hit a three to put the Wizards up 53-55 with 3:46 left. About a minute and a few buckets later, Rui Hachimura hit a corner three to give the Wizards a 56-62 lead. Jordan Poole had a good look from three available to him on the right wing, but pump faked, side-stepped, picked up his dribble, and pivoted his way into a turnover — his third of the quarter — and the Wizards called a timeout with 2:16 left.
After that timeout, Steve Kerr subbed in Anthony Lamb and Donte DiVincenzo for Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney. The Warriors’ small-ball lineup cut the Wizards’ lead to just a point in a little over a minute as Steph Curry was fouled shooting a three, and then Jordan Poole got an and-one layup in transition. Poole followed up that layup with an impressive two-way sequence to give the Warriors a 64-62 lead, which you can see below:
In the final minute of the half, Anthony Lamb committed a needless foul that drew the ire of Steph Curry, who was audibly frustrated with Lamb. Those subsequent free throws tied the score, but Curry hit a floater with a little over 30 seconds left in the quarter, and then on the Warriors’ final possession of the half, Jordan Poole hit a step-back three with the clock winding down to give them a 69-64 lead going into halftime.
3rd Q:
12:00 — Curry/Poole/Wiggins/D. Green/Looney: 69-64, Warriors lead.
9:38 — Curry/Poole/DiVincenzo/D. Green/Looney: 71-74, Wizards lead.
6:34 — Curry/Poole/DiVincenzo/Lamb/D. Green: 78-83, Wizards lead.
4:57 — Curry/Jerome/DiVincenzo/Lamb/Looney: 80-87, Wizards lead.
1:10 — 93-93, tie game.
Steve Kerr called the Warriors’ first timeout of the half barely two minutes into the third quarter after the Wizards scored 10 points in just over two minutes. Kristaps Porzingis and Cory Kispert each hit a three, but it was Daniel Gafford’s second bucket of the quarter — a layup over Jordan Poole rotating over to “protect” the paint — that got Kerr off the bench. Steph Curry scored on a mid-range jumper during this Wizards’ run, but other than that, things were bleak. Andrew Wiggins missed a pull-up three and one of his rare drives to the hoop ended in a missed floater by Draymond Green, Steph Curry missed a three, and Kevon Looney was called for an offensive foul.
Jordan Poole hit a three out of a split action after that timeout to tie the game and over the two few minutes, the Warriors and Wizards traded buckets to tie the game. Before Anthony Lamb checked in at the 6:34 mark for Kevon Loony, the Warriors picked up two frustrating fouls defending Kristaps Porzingis and chasing down loose balls. But somehow, the Wizards committed four team fouls before the halfway point of the period, and at the 6:31 mark, Draymond Green made a pair of free throws to make the score 80-83.
Draymond Green stayed in the game longer than he did in the first quarter, but despite his best efforts, the Wizards’ lead grew to 7 points when he checked out of the game. Draymond shot four free throws in the period, competed for rebounds, and made rugged defensive plays, but they ultimately were futile. Here are two such examples:
Green checked out of the game at the 4:57 mark for Kevon Looney and the Wizards scored on the ensuing possession, but Donte DiVincenzo scored on a drive (!), Steph Curry hit a pull-up three, and then DiVincenzo hit another layup (!) — this time in transition — and got fouled on the shot attempt. His free throws cut the Wizards’ lead to three points and another Steph Curry three and an Anthony Lamb drive later, the score was tied at 93 points a piece when the Warriors called a timeout at the 1:10 mark. Neither team scored again in the period, but Steph Curry did bobble the ball on the Warriors’ final possession of the quarter, which gave Kyle Kuzma another chance to take a buzzer-beating shot at the end of the period. Kuzma missed this halfcourt three, but just barely, but really, it was remarkable to see any NBA player other than Steph Curry or Jordan Poole willingly take multiple end-of-quarter heaves.
4th Q:
12:00 — Poole/Jerome/DiVincenzo/Wiggins/D. Green: 93-93, tie game.
9:31 — Poole/DiVincenzo/Wiggins/Lamb/D. Green: 98-105, Wizards lead.
7:13 — Curry/Poole/Wiggins/Lamb/D. Green: 103-106, Wizards lead.
6:33 — Curry/Poole/Wiggins/Lamb/Looney: 105-106, Wizards lead.
4:55 — Curry/Poole/Wiggins/Lamb/D. Green: 110-107, Warriors lead.
The Warriors started the fourth quarter with a small-ball lineup that was even smaller than their second-quarter second unit. Moses Moody, who did little of note with his first-half minutes, did not play. Instead, Ty Jerome got his minutes. Only a minute into the quarter, the Wizards led by five points after a Rui Hachimura three and a lob dunk by Daniel Gafford, but Draymond Green hit a YOLO three early in the clock, and after a Kyle Kuzma three, Green assisted an Andrew Wiggins baseline layup to make the score 98-101. Kyle Kuzma, however, hit another three on the following possession, and then Daniel Gafford drew a foul after he was... surprise, surprise... switched onto a smaller defender.
Gafford’s free throws gave the Wizards an 8-point lead and brought Anthony Lamb into the game to give the Warriors something resembling size in the frontcourt. In the 90 seconds after Lamb subbed into the game, Andrew Wiggins assisted a Donte DiVincenzo baseline jumper as he cut and passed the ball, and then, one of his drives turned into a kick out for Draymond Green’s second made three of the period to make the score 103-106 with 8:03 left in the game.
Steph Curry checked into the game at the 8:03 mark. Forty seconds later, Curry helped set up Anthony Lamb for a layup that forced the Wizards to call a timeout at the 6:33 mark with just a one-point lead. You can see that play below:
On the Warriors’ next possession, Jordan Poole got a steal on what looked to be a likely interior bucket by the Wizards and then scored what looked like an and-one layup, or perhaps, an offensive foul. The Wizards challenged that foul call, which you can see below:
During the replay challenge of that foul call, Draymond Green subbed out of the game for Kevon Looney, who proceeded to get a layup blocked after pump-faking Kristaps Porzingis. That blocked layup went out of bounds and Steph Curry hit a tough, fading three, and on the next possession, he hit a bank shot on a drive to make the score 110-106 with 5:07 left. Kristaps Porzingis drew a foul on the next trip down and during his free throws,
Draymond Green subbed back into the game for Kevon Looney and promptly got an easy layup contested under the bucket courtesy of a Steph Curry assist. Monte Morris hit a pull-up three after that Green layup and then Steph Curry turned the ball over, which gave the Wizards a chance to get out in transition, but somehow they missed a layup and tip layup — both attempts looked like they might have been fouls by the Warriors — and that gave Steph Curry a transition three that he hit to put the Warriors up 115-111 with 3:58 left in the game.
Monte Morris hit a layup for his 14th points of the night on the next possession, and then Draymond Green made a layup and then split a pair of free-throws out of pick-and-rolls to put the Warriors up 118-114 with under three minutes left. Kyle Kuzma scored a layup at the 2:24 mark and drew a blocking foul on Anthony Lamb, but the Warriors challenged that call successfully and got the ball back.
Steph Curry then got a switch on Kyle Kuzma on the left wing and rained a deep step-back two over his head, which was followed by a Kuzma turnover with 1:46 left. Curry went for the kill shot after that Kuzma turnover and missed a tough three, but Draymond Green corralled an offensive rebound and fired it right into the hands of Jordan Poole, who hit a dagger three to give the Warriors a 123-114 lead with less than 90 seconds left in the game. That Poole three led to a Wizards timeout, and immediately after the stoppage, Draymond Green got a steal and kicked out to Andrew Wiggins for an easy transition dunk to give the Warriors an 11-point lead and a stress-free final minute of the game.