Warriors remain winless on the road as Kings best them in Sacramento
The losing away from Chase is out of control right now!
Playing the Golden State Warriors is feeling like the ultimate ego boost for some NBA teams 13 games into the season. The Dubs are 5-8, with seven of those losses coming on the road.
It’s been long documented that teams in their home gyms get super amped to play the dynastic Warriors, a legendary team chock full of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers. Ticket prices surge, and normally sleepy arenas suddenly are frothing with excitement because the best in the world are there for a night.
Previously that wasn’t too big of a problem for Golden State; as I mentioned before per Stat Muse, the Warriors have had the best road record in the NBA since the 2014-2015 season. But in this early part of the season they’re tinkering and experimenting with lineups and rotations in ways that give these other squads windows of opportunity to take wins.
It’s not like GSW is getting blown out for the most part; the losses aren’t usually decided until the final two minutes. But turnovers and inconsistent defense are shooting the Dubs in the foot and making it hard to get by despite some decent scoring numbers (hell they scored 115 last night!). With Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole not at their championship best right now, it’s tough to win shootouts without Stephen Curry going insane.
Klay and Poole shot a combined 12-of-30 last night with 6 turnovers and 4 assists. They were 8-of-21 from beyond the arc, hunting for some shooting magic. Here’s their combined shooting chart from last night. Premium analysis: red X’s aren’t good.
Check out how pumped those teams were after those big home wins over the defending champions.
The Detroit Pistons are 3-11 right now but beat the Warriors 128-114 in Michigan:
“I'm overjoyed for our guys after the work they put in tonight,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “That's what happens with a young, rebuilding team. There are going to be nights like this where people are going to say, ‘Whoa, where did that come from?’ That's exciting."
“I think tonight we showed what Pistons basketball is going to be,” Isaiah Stewart said. “We played defense the way we needed to play it every night, and on offense we were sharing the ball and making sure everyone got shots.”
“We can't stop fouling, and something needs to click with our guys,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after his team put Detroit on the line 38 times. “We have to be near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency and that puts us in some bad spots offensively.”
And here’s guard Jalen Suggs of the 4-9 Orlando Magic glowing after hitting a dagger to seal a 130-129 win over the Warriors in Florida:
''I've had a lot of fun moments. This definitely is one of them,'' Suggs said. ''This is definitely towards the top.''
''It's just really hard to win an NBA game by giving up 46 free throws,'' Kerr said. ''Even when we were up 16, it didn't seem right because we were giving up layups left and right, fouling. You could feel it. Give them credit. We're going to take everybody's best shot and we got their best shot tonight.''
And now in their third try in in like two weeks, the Kings finally have a win over the Warriors after taking them down 122-115 in California’s capital. Sacramento now has a 6-6 record on the season and optimism is BOOMING in their fanbase.
HUGE FOR SACRAMENTO!
I know I was one of the main people complaining about Golden State leaving Oracle Arena in Oakland to go to San Francisco’s Chase Center, but at this point I don’t want to see the Dubs ever leave the City. It’s the safest place for them to play basketball apparently?
Thank goodness they have a game tonight against the Spurs at home at 7PM. Let’s get a win!
friend of the blog Joe Viray does some film analysis of the Warriors defensive breakdowns from last night: https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2022/11/13/23457468/warriors-kings-defense-jordan-poole-steph-curry-draymond-green-film-breakdown
1) Kuminga engages with the ball, then stops when the ball is passed out; nobody recovers to complete the x out, giving up an open 3; kinda thing that must drive Kerr & the vets nuts
2) just a terrible, half assed defensive possession from Poole
3) Poole has his arms out, but is standing straight up & so can't react quickly when Huerter cuts
4) communication miscue between Steph & Donte (but also, neither is really the right guy to guard Metu)
5) is Dray overhelping here? and/or communication miscue between Dray & Steph
ok, little quickie on Klay resting, and Moody's chance to escape the bench
https://dubnationhq.com/p/thompsons-absence-frees-up-minutes