The Warriors are stuck in a time loop and can't find the exit after loss to Bulls

Back-to-back losses to the Jazz and Bulls have the Warriors trapped in a cycle of mistakes and fleeting hopes.

In time loop films like Groundhog Day, Palm Springs, or the perpetually underrated Edge of Tomorrow, the protagonists are doomed to repeat the same humiliating or deadly day over and over again. Once they move from bewilderment into disbelief and finally acceptance of their situation, the main characters adapt to the repetition, memorizing the events of the day so perfectly that nothing surprises them. Eventually they become totally ambivalent as they realize there are never any consequences to their actions and they are powerless to change the loop around them.

The Golden State Warriors experienced the same thing in back-to-back losses against tanking teams on Monday and Tuesday night, and are currently facing a similar ineffectual fate. According to PlayoffStatus.com, even if the Dubs lose every remaining game on their schedule, they still wouldn’t necessarily be eliminated from the postseason. That is how bad the bottom of the Western Conference is this season. And thinking more optimistically, they can’t really escape the play-in either. The Warriors are behind the Suns by enough that PlayoffStatus.com gives them a two percent or worse chance to reach any specific seed higher than eighth.

So as frustrating to Dub Nation and damning of the team as the last two games have been, they ultimately don’t matter much in the grand scheme of title contention. Which is arguably worse because it robs us of the logical basis to be upset over two embarrassing defeats at the hands of the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls.

Compounding the situation is the Warriors’ current health crisis, some parts of which rob the entire season of championship stakes, but also make it possible to justify losing games that you’d expect to win. For fans seeking something to care about passionately, and hoping their team is going to play with a spark, it’s a nightmare. The Warriors are stuck in perpetual apathy and you can’t really blame them.

That being said, losing to Utah and Chicago was still extremely painful. It’s hard to decide which of the two unexpected losses is more brutal to watch, given that Utah was without their two All-Star caliber players the entire night and sat their best available guys down the stretch on Monday in a blatant attempt at tanking the game. The game in Utah was a back-and-forth affair featuring 12 ties and a whopping 19 lead changes. The Warriors were never able to gain significant ground, but earned a chance to win the game and couldn’t make a layup.

It briefly seemed like things would be different on Tuesday. While the Bulls actively tried on Tuesday, and are much less “injured” than Utah, the Warriors were at home, had Kristaps Porzingis and Will Richard back and owned a five-point lead with 100 seconds to go, an eight-point lead with 90 seconds to go and a two-point lead with 1.4 seconds on the clock. Golden State even led through most of the first quarter, and Draymond Green blocked an early three, usually a sign that he is engaged.

But then the Bulls went on a run to close out the quarter and a new pattern emerged, one which would repeat itself all night. Chicago sustained extended runs at the end of each remaining period, giving Dub Nation yet another sense that we’d lived this situation before. That unfortunate sense of déjà vu returned at the very end of the game, when a boneheaded decision gave the Bulls a chance to tie it with 1.4 seconds left. Draymond of all people fouled Jalen Smith of all people, and Smith sank both free throws to force overtime.

In a game dominated by huge runs, which still made it into overtime, there has to be at least some good moments for both teams. And Tuesday was no exception. LJ Cryer’s shooting continues to stand out. He hit some massive threes and has the downhill mentality that so many on the team lack. His backcourt mates Will Richard and Pat Spencer also had excellent games. Richard started the game, but had a quiet first half in his return from an ankle injury. Once he’d shaken off the cobwebs, Little Gator was much more himself, cutting for multiple layups and registering one of his mandatory cookie theft + breakaway bucket combinations. Together Spencer and Richard, flanked by Al Horford and GPII, captained a comeback down the stretch in the fourth quarter that deserved better.

Ultimately though, without any true creators, the best shots the Warriors could generate were Al Horford threes and he couldn’t hit enough of them to put the Dubs ahead for good. By the time 48 minutes elapsed and we headed to overtime, even with an equal chance to break out of the doom cycle, the Warriors looked so gassed and disinterested in competing that another loss to a terrible team felt as inevitable as waking up in Punxsutawney, PA again.

Stray Observations:

There’s a fantastic bit from comedian Kat Williams that says, “A Chrysler 300 look like a (Rolls Royce) Phantom until a Phantom pull up [sic].” This bit was incarnate multiple times on the basketball court last night in the form of Brandin Podziemski and Josh Giddey, and Gui Santos and Matas Buzelis. In fact, Giddey makes any prospect the Warriors have drafted in the past 10 years look like a poor imitation. His reputation is that of a non-shooter, but his shot off the dribble looked pretty good against the Warriors, and the Bulls’ broadcast mentioned that he’s shot 37% from three the past two seasons. He’s also faced questions about his defense and an accusation about a relationship with a minor that ended up with a dropped lawsuit. But on the offensive end of the basketball court at least, he’s a model of pace, calm and control.

Where Podz always seems to be slightly out of control and operating at the limit of his athleticism, perhaps because he’s compensating for a lack of size, Giddey played a leisurely, almost serene game. Podz often picks up his dribble in the lane when he’s cut off, usually pivoting away from the basket to throw the ball back out behind the three-point line and negating any advantage he might have created. In contrast, when Josh Giddey picks up his dribble and scans, he looks calm, unworried about ball pressure and is still able to see cutters or find a shooter with a skip pass.

All of this poise was on full display in a 17-0 Giddey-orchestrated run for the Bulls to end the first half. The worst part of all of this is that one of the smartest organizations in the NBA decided that Giddey wasn’t good enough to be a part of their future, and they immediately won a title after trading him away. And he still outclasses any young player, in terms of feel and impact, on the Dubs by such a huge margin. This is not to say he’s a winning player or he’ll be able to create as many good shots for his teammates if the Bulls ever make the playoffs. But his ability to read the game, see and deliver beautiful passes and growing ability to score are noticeably levels away from anyone on the Warriors not named Steph or Jimmy.

For all the praise rightfully heaped on Gui Santos over the past few weeks, this was a really bad back-to-back for the Brazilian. In Utah he missed bunnies over and over at the rim, potentially costing the Warriors the game in the fourth. Against Chicago he looked tired and slow, and Matas Buzelis’ career-high night showcased the real NBA athleticism that Gui lacks. Gui still cut for multiple nice buckets, but his handle let him down, his shooting regression continues and he coughed up too many turnovers again.

Another player to look slow was Kristaps Porzingis. It felt like he was moving in slow motion, possibly because he doesn’t have his rhythm after being sick and barely playing after his Achilles injury. This might also be attributed to his height, and how absurd it would be to move any quicker at 7’3”. Maybe even more likely is that we’ve been spoiled by watching the lightning-quick reflexes and processing of Draymond Green for so many years. Whatever it was, Porzingis’ size still managed to make a massive difference, as he registered four blocks, displayed great timing and forced multiple Bulls to abort a foray in the lane. The presence of Porzingis should unlock Draymond defensively to put out fires without worrying about protecting the rim.

For all the old griping about a lack of ball screens in Steve Kerr’s offense, the team is sure setting a lot of screens for ball handlers at the moment. The problem is that the rollers are almost never rolling hard to the basket. If they don’t immediately pop out for a three, players like Al Horford and Gui Santos still continually abort their roll, not presenting themselves as a target in the lane and making it extremely easy for the big on defense to cut off the ball handler. The Warriors’ dynasty was secretly built on the back of the Steph Curry/Draymond Green pick-and-roll, and while no one on the team is quite as dynamic a decision-maker as Draymond with a four-on-three advantage, the Warriors are hamstringing themselves by not at least following through on the roll part of pick-and-rolls.

GPII has to be back on the team next year, otherwise the Dubs might go the entire season without dunking. Gary had four or five incredible dunks against the Bulls and seems to be the only player capable of creating vertical spacing.