It’s now seventy-two hours following the disastrous performance that took place at The Crypto Arena in Los Angeles of the Golden State Warriors. Anything Warriors attempted just fell absolutely flat. No one on the team could make a shot even if they were a boat trying to hit water! It was a nightmare outcome for everyone watching. As ‘Cowboy Kobe’ Austin Reaves hit the full court shot at the buzzer at halftime, I was depleted. I of course kept some faith, knowing how many times Warriors role players tend to show up in the third and fourth quarters. Not this time. Everyone seemed out of sync. Between trying to grab boards, nailing an open layup, 15-footer, or the usual ‘nailed it’ open three-footer from Klay or Steph, nothing swished in. Clank after clank off the rim was another dagger into hope of any comeback.
Friday’s loss against the Lakers was the first game six loss in a playoff series under coach Steve Kerr. The stats displayed all we needed to know of the team's deplorable Performance. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry were 6 for 26 at the three point line (23%), team field goal percentage at 46.5%, 16 turnovers and only making 9 of 12 free throws (where Lakers made 20/20 of their free throws), and 22 fouls versus 15 fouls for the Lakers. Honestly, other numbers between the two teams were similar, with the exception of free throw attempts made and the made field goals. The Warriors had several opportunities with open layups and three point goals, where every one clanked off the rim; there were times where we even were able to grab the board with another attempt, only to either turn it over with a bad pass, or throw it out of bounds. There’s other times where the Lakers just smuggled the boards and the Warriors either had only one person or none under the rim. When has it become a thing not to have a person camping out to grab a board? Between the series versus Sacramento and Los Angeles, it seemed like the Warriors allowed the opposing team to get under their rim, for second and sometimes frustratingly third shot opportunities.
This result gives you perspective of how incredible the three-peat by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Magic Johnson Lakers battling with Larry Bird’s Celtics between 1984 and 1988. Attempting to win back-to-back Championships is a monstrous task. Although Golden State made it to the NBA Finals five years in a row (2015- 2019), they were able to win back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018 with the help of Kevin Durant as part of the squad. As the roster dynamics have shifted, and key role players getting older, the window to The Finals is closing. There are unknowns coming up on what the 2023-2024 Golden State Warriors will look like. I am hoping Bob Myers comes back as GM, and Draymond Green decides to stay along with Gary Payton II. The one person I would ship off, due to so many inconsistencies, would be Jordan Poole. There’s other young players that sat on the bench I feel can be developed this summer as impactful role players (DiVincenzo, Kuminga, Moody, Green) for this upcoming season.
As I was exchanging jabs with my brother-in-law (lives in Oceanside, grew up in Venice) about the series between NorCal and SoCal, he cheekily replied Friday evening, “You know Suzanne, you can come over and root for the Lakers, they’re a California team…” I quickly responded, “Jim, that would be like going over to the Dark Side!” of course, with no hesitation, “Is that such a bad thing??? Don’t they have special powers? 😛” You won this round L.A. and LeBron… Let’s see if you can go all the way outside a bubble! We will be paying attention!
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