If you want to use a round of on-court performance to summarize and summarize the Warriors who are struggling on the road today, then a round at the end of the third quarter with the Magic is undoubtedly very representative.
At that time, the Warriors' lead had been reduced to only 8 points, and there were about 50 seconds left until the end of the third quarter, taking the opportunity to complete the defense and then play an offensive round to extend the lead to double digits, which would undoubtedly allow the Warriors to enter the final quarter of the game with a very large psychological advantage. At this point, the Magic's Chuma Ojiji made a three-pointer on the flank, and three Warriors players — Curry, Moody and Wiseman — were all in the three-second zone ready to grab the rebound. In the NBA, this is an ordinary round.
Augiegi's shot hit the back edge of the basket and bounced out. At this time, the Magic players near the basket are only this year's undrafted rookie Kevin Harris. In the previous six games, Harris had only grabbed 11 rebounds in total, not a rebounding master. The Warriors' most reasonable choice at this time is naturally for Curry to jam Harris's position and then let two taller teammates protect the rebound. But Curry didn't seem to realize there was an opponent's player behind him, and he actually walked straight through the three-second zone. Harris, behind Curry, just like that, closed the rebound without any interference.
It was the first mistake the Warriors made in this defensive round, but it wasn't the last. The other two Warriors players, Moody and Wiseman, showed no desire to jump up and fight for rebounds. Moody pinned his feet to the floor as he watched Harris grab the rebound and launch a second attack. Wiseman was a little more positive, but also half a beat slower than Harris, and as a big man at 2.16, he was taken off the head by Harris, who was only 1.98 meters.
The final result was that Harris took the offensive rebound and directly attacked the basket under the basket, and the chaotic Wiseman also paid a foul, giving the opponent a chance to play 2+1. But the Warriors didn't stop making mistakes, and Wiseman, who lost rebounds and fouls, was so frustrated that he slammed the ball into the basket bracket after receiving the ball that bounced off the ground. This scene was caught by referee Scott Foster, and although Wiseman's action was not directed at the referee, a technical foul was inevitable.
While Magic player Franz Wagner executed a technical foul free throw, Warriors head coach Kerr made a substitution, replacing the somewhat runaway Wiseman with Green. Wiseman, who returned to the bench, cursed "FXXK", and since then, he has not been given the opportunity to appear. His stats were frozen at 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and in the 10 minutes he played, the Warriors netted nine points.
"It's been a tough couple of games for James [Wiseman]," Kerr said after the game, "but I still believe in him, I love his talent and attitude, but there's no shortcut to success." ”
Wiseman went off the court, and Wagner hit a technical foul free throw, but Harris missed the free throw, and the Warriors still held a five-point lead. But Green, who just replaced Wiseman, didn't seem to pay enough attention to the issue of grabbing rebounds, and Ojigie, who averaged only 3.8 rebounds per game this season, easily went from Green's left to his right, and then pressed Green's body to grab offensive rebounds again. After passing the ball to the outside, Magic's R.J. Hapton hit a three-pointer, which temporarily put the Magic's offensive run at the end of the third quarter to an end. The Warriors, who originally had an 8-point lead, only had 2 points left.
In the end, the Warriors lost to the Magic by a narrow margin of 1 point by a score of 129-130. And when I look back at the end of the third quarter and this round that was scored by the opponent by 6 points at the end of the game, I don't know how the Warriors will feel in their hearts.
What's even more embarrassing for the Warriors is that before losing to the Magic, they had already lost back-to-back to the Hornets, Pistons and Heat on their road trip to the East, and are now on a four-game losing streak. And the four opponents in this four-game losing streak, the Hornets 3-5, the Pistons 2-7, the Heat 4-5, the Magic only 2-7. Four teams in the bottom seven in the East have slipped the Warriors' record to just 3-6, dropping to 12th place in the West, just ahead of the Lakers, Kings and Rockets.
For the warriors in front of them, the reasons for today's predicament are manifold. They have little talent available at the rim, ranking 26th in the league with 116.8 points conceded per 100 rounds, their fouls remain high, and they have 32 more fouls against the Magic, and their single-game free throw ratio is 15-46, setting a record for the largest single-game gap between opponents and opponents since 2013.
For the foul issue, Cole put the main blame on the starters. Although the Warriors' starting five Tigers outscored their opponents by 8 points in this one-point difference, Green, who received six fouls, and Looney, who received five fouls, were indeed the hardest hit by the blow. Green, in particular, has committed six, four, four and six fouls in four games.
"We had three fouls in the first few minutes of the game," Cole said, "so it's not that new players or young players make mistakes, it's that everyone has problems." Stephen (Curry) also fouled early on, and once he started to commit fouls, every foul after that snowballed the situation. ”
However, when it comes to the question of winning or losing the game, these meritorious veterans of the Warriors still played their due level. Curry scored 39 points on 22 sporting shots, Thompson made seven three-pointers in a single game, Wiggins had no obvious problems except for an empty basket, Green left the court with six fouls but still gave his team enough firepower, and Looney had a whopping 17 points and seven rebounds outside of the Splash Brothers.
What really made the Warriors lose control of the game was the stage when the substitutes came on the court. Jordan Poole is 4-of-12 from the field and is shooting just 31 percent from three-point range so far this season; DiVincenzo, who had a good performance in the opening season, is still recovering from injury; Wiseman struggled as reflected in the opening round. Kuminga has lost his rotation spot, having played three of his last five games, including against the Magic.
However, given the current dilemma facing the Warriors, adjusting the rotation is almost imperative.
"We've got to make some adjustments, make some changes," Cole said, "and we've played nine games so far and basically looked at the various line-ups. So, it's time to try something different. ”
So, in which direction will the Warriors adjust? Kuminga could be a player who gets more chances. Although he didn't play very well in the previous games, after all, he hasn't had too many opportunities to perform, nor has he matched too many teammates. If he is assigned to play the No. 4 position, it will allow the Warriors to be more flexible on both the offensive and defensive ends. With Kuming in place, Wiseman or Jamecow Green could be squeezed out of playing time.
"Everybody is going to get the chance to perform," Cole said of his plans for the future, "We have some players in the squad who are desperately trying to get a chance to play, and we need to look for some different squad combinations. So, we'll gather the team to discuss it and find a solution. ”