Warriors’ offensive woes highlighted by depth players’ regression

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Warriors’ offensive woes highlighted by depth players’ regression originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors entered the season convinced their revamped roster would allow them to ride the wave many ascribe to Stephen Curry. They were at last equipped with enough shooters to join the 3-point revolution.

And for the first 15 games, it seemed they were right. They were fourth in the league in 3-point attempts (41.4 per game), 3-point makes and 3-point percentage (38.3).

Curry, who for so long relied mostly on Klay Thompson as his deep-shooting sidekick, now had a cavalry at his back.
Golden State’s cavalry is in retreat, its 3-point shooting making a hard downward trend, and it’s among several shortcomings to surface over the last few games, including Saturday in Phoenix, where the Warriors took a 113-105 loss to the Suns.

“We didn’t play a bad game,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters at Footprint Center. “Nine turnovers, 28 assists. We had we had some good looks, and the ball didn’t go in.

“But (the Suns) were great, 18-for-35 from 3. In the first half, I thought our guys were playing pretty solid defense, rotating, flying around. But they spread you out, and they did a great job of getting behind us a few times, pulling in our rotation guys and then hitting 3s behind the play.”

All true. Golden State’s defense was annihilated in the first half by the Suns’ dizzying ball movement, leading to open 3-pointers on most of their possessions. The Suns were 14-of-21 from distance in the first half before fading to 4-of-14 as the Warriors brought more defensive intensity.

The Warriors’ first-half inability to slow Phoenix was compounded by an offense that too often labored in vain. With 38.1-percent shooting from the field, including 34.8 from beyond the arc, the Warriors mustered only 49 points in the first half. It got slightly better in the second half (44 percent and 35.3 from deep), but the shooting that shined not so long ago is looking dusty.

Though their first 13 games, the Warriors were second in the NBA in 3-point makes (16.3 per game), fourth in 3-point attempts (41.3) and second in…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/warriors-offensive-woes-highlighted-depth-065518500.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-12-01 06:55:00

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