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The Warriors lost their preseason game against the Lakers 104-98 Monday. Don’t worry, they’ll get two more opportunities this week to exact revenge. Yes, the preseason schedule is ridiculous.
In a game where Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell and pretty much anyone making more than the minimum for the Lakers did not play, here’s what we learned, other than LeBron James isn’t interested in losing any of that money he has coming from China:
Welcome to the real world
The Warriors missed 11 of their 12 first-quarter 3-pointers Monday. Not all were bad looks, but clearly, Golden State was not ripping the net off the rim against the Lakers.
It just wasn’t their night.
Get used to that excuse.
Don’t get me wrong, the Warriors will make plenty of 3-pointers this year, but without Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, they are going to be living the unglamorous life so many other teams in the NBA live on a nightly basis:
They’re going to be subject to more extreme forms of 3-point shooting variance than ever before.
And let me tell you, as someone who watches a lot of NBA basketball — a lot of bad NBA basketball, at that (the curse of being born in Chicago) — it’s downright annoying.
The Warriors are not going to shoot fewer 3-pointers this season — that much is clear, despite the loss of two elite shooting talents. Last year, the Warriors shot 34 3-pointers a game. So far this preseason, they are shooting 38 3-pointers per contest.
One of those frequent 3-point shooters will be the greatest shooter who ever lived, Stephen Curry, who can take as many as he wants.
D’Angelo Russell is going to shoot plenty himself. Perhaps his career trajectory keeps pointing up and a new team and new role suit him, but he’s a 35 percent shooter from distance and shot 36 percent from beyond the stripe last year. For reference, Thompson has never shot below 40 percent.
And after that? Unknown entities and known entities who should not be shooting 3-pointers.
Remember when the Warriors deployed diminutive point guard Quinn Cook as a wing last year because he could actually hit a corner-3?
This is that situation, but worse.
The real X-Factor is Jordan Poole. That might become a big theme this season.
When Poole is on from distance, the Warriors will be passable or better from behind the arc. When he’s not, like on Monday, it’s highly likely the Warriors’ 3-point shooting will be good enough to overcome… like on Monday.
The rookie is a true shooter — that is undeniable so far this preseason — but we saw the downside of that on Monday, as he went 2-for-9 from beyond the arc.
The Warriors’ 3-point percentage went with him — the Dubs shot 25 percent from beyond the arc. Curry would need to be a supernova and Russell have an ace game to overcome that level out that kind of performance, and you can’t trust anyone else beyond them.
And, here’s the real kicker, it’s clear that we should expect Poole to be getting up between 10 and 15 percent percent of the Dubs’ total 3-point attempts this season.
This is how other teams live — at the mercy of the rim.
The Warriors are going to feel that this year in a big way. It just so happens they’ll be at the mercy of a rookie, too.
Chriss is in
I don’t know how Warriors general manager Bob Myers does it — I don’t really care how he does it. But he has to keep Marquese Chriss, who has proven to be too good for the Warriors to lose this preseason.
Yes, this is planting a flag for a third-string center, but it’s undeniable that Chriss fits what the Warriors are looking for at the 5. He looks like he could even be the starter for this squad.
He’s hardly a defensive ace, but he moves pretty well. He runs the floor well in transition. He can shoot the ball, even from distance. He’s a solid rebounder and a surprising passer (four assists Monday). There’s a deftness to his game.
What more could you possibly be looking for in a reserve big man?
John Oliver agrees:
John Oliver being Marquese Chriss' biggest fan is great. pic.twitter.com/PrjKZ2Qubt
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) October 15, 2019
Wes explained the reasonable paths for keeping Chriss on Monday. All of them sound good to me, because there are perhaps five untouchable players on this team. Chriss doesn’t reach that level, of course, but we no longer live in a world where the Warriors can say they’re trying to win if they don’t keep him.
O (rebounding) Woes
Steve Kerr says #Warriors must improve their rebounding & foul less or they’re going to be in “huge trouble” this season. pic.twitter.com/NkEkniJXJ5
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) October 15, 2019
The game might not have meant much — what, with so many big names out and all — but after Monday’s contest, Steve Kerr lit into his team a bit with his postgame comments.
“Between the rebounding and the fouling — those are the big areas that we’ve talked about the most,” Kerr said. “That’s why this is a really disappointing game, especially the first half. You talk about fouling over and over again… it’s just really, really frustrating. If we don’t get that cleaned up, we’re in huge trouble this year.
“You’ve got to defend without fouling and you’ve got to rebound,” Kerr continued. “If you do those two things, then you’ve got a chance, but without ‘em — big trouble.”
I agree. I know you’re relieved to know that.
But I’d like to see this team at a true “full strength” before totally freaking out. Being down two top centers and then Green on Monday made the contest with the Lakers a difficult one to fully evaluate.
Don’t get me wrong, they very much might be in big trouble. A team with Curry just lost to a team that played a G-League roster that played in China this past weekend.
That said, if Steph Curry has to play the NBA season alongside the Santa Cruz Warriors and some rookies, then yeah, the Warriors are, indeed, in big trouble.
