Steph, Draymond best bets to lift Warriors out of late-game quagmire

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Steph, Draymond best bets to lift Warriors out of late-game quagmire originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – The first sign of the Warriors loosening their grip came not when they blew a 17-point lead over the final 14 minutes on Nov. 23 in San Antonio. Nor was it any of the four consecutive defeats that followed.

Golden State’s ongoing skid was conceived 13 days earlier, in the fourth quarter of an 11-point victory at Oklahoma City.

The Warriors on that night dominated the first three quarters, shooting 54.9 percent from the field, 50 percent from deep, recording 30 assists and taking a 107-79 lead. Though OKC big man Chet Holmgren left with an injury in the opening minutes, this still was a resounding statement on the floor of the team that last season posted the best record in the Western Conference.

That statement was muted in the fourth quarter. When Golden State’s bench, praised relentlessly in the opening weeks, was outscored 11-0 in less than three minutes, coach Steve Kerr immediately reinserted veteran starters Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton to halt the Thunder comeback.

The Warriors lost the quarter by 17 points but didn’t fret. They won.

That was the first of a 15-game stretch in which the Warriors outscored their opponent only four times in the fourth quarter. They were 7-8 during that span and 16th in the NBA in win percentage. That’s the best that can be said of the last 15 games.

A look through the microscope at the fourth quarters of those 15 games reveals Golden State is 19th in assists, 21st in 3-point shooting percentage, 26th in personal fouls, 27th in steals, 28th in turnovers, 29th in overall field-goal percentage – and dead last in scoring, free-throw percentage and plus/minus.

Since winning seven of their first nine games, the Warriors have been the worst fourth-quarter team in the NBA.

“It’s been rough,” Kerr said after the team’s 90-minute practice on Saturday.

“We’re not getting organized well enough,” he added. “I think we’re playing slower, too. Our pace is down. The last game, it felt like we were…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/steph-draymond-best-bets-lift-173014542.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-12-15 17:30:00

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