Warriors’ kryptonite, dire need for roster changes exposed by the athletic Hawks

Warriors’ kryptonite, dire need for roster changes exposed by the athletic Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors, on Sunday, walked into Chase Center hoping to extend an encouraging segment of the season and encountered their kryptonite.

Advertisement

They ran into Atlanta, whose roster is built to expose and exploit their most obvious vulnerabilities, and were overrun in a 124-111 loss that served as a harsh reminder of the Warriors’ shortcomings – literally – while sounding yet another alarm for their front office.

The roster is profoundly defective. As good as the Warriors have been of late, rediscovering offense and winning eight of their previous 11 games, their margin for error remains thinner than dollar-store tissue.

The Warriors are short; the Hawks are lengthy. The Warriors are light on elite athleticism; the Hawks could assemble a very good 400-meter relay squad. The Hawks showcased active, disruptive defenders and had enough shooters to take full advantage of the havoc they created against Golden State.

Kryptonite.

Advertisement

“They got a lot of long, lanky dudes, especially with their guard play,” De’Anthony Melton said.

“We struggled to get paint touches tonight,” Stephen Curry said. “The ball was kind of just swinging around the perimeter, and they were able to keep five bodies on bodies. That’s usually what good defenses do. Tonight, we didn’t have that answer.”

After carefully disassembling the Warriors in the first half, taking a 59-53 lead, Atlanta came out in the third quarter and took away their composure, sending them reeling and relapsing into a bad old habit.

Turnovers. Specifically, the live-ball giveaways. Golden State committed five in the pivotal third quarter, giving the Hawks 13 points. The damage at the final buzzer: 16 turnovers, for 28 Atlanta points.

Advertisement

The Warriors, conversely, forced nine turnovers, leading to 11 points.

“They just played a great game,” coach Steve Kerr said of the Hawks. “We couldn’t turn them over. They shot it lights out, had 32 assists, only seven turnovers. I didn’t think we…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-kryptonite-dire-roster-changes-222611840.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-01-11 22:26:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.