Start the postseason, already
Pelicans 126, Warriors 120: Potential playoff foe prevails. B11
In the land of a thousand centers, truth proved evasive once again at Oracle Arena. Everyone’s taking turns at analyzing the Warriors down this endless stretch, but there can be no meaning in the meaningless.
It was a thrilling Saturday night, that’s for sure, and it probably did make sense that
the New Orleans Pelicans, with everything to gain, pulled out a 126-120 victory over a depleted Warriors team we won’t fully recognize for at least a couple of weeks.
It’s just that nobody will remember any of this — the four home-court losses, the Thursday night disaster at Indiana, none of it, going back to the moment Stephen Curry injured his knee in the Atlanta game March 23. The Warriors have been nothing but a glorified mirage since then, searching for
motivation with so little reason for it to exist.
If a grandiose statement can be made without reservation, it’s that the Warriors are a pretty ordinary looking team right now — and if this curious malaise continues, they’re in for a world of trouble in a Curry-less first round.
They’ll need to play far better defense than they demonstrated in allowing 67 first-half points to New Orleans. They’ll need a healthy Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston to shore up a backcourt getting plenty from Quinn Cook (21 points in this one) but little from Nick Young.
And the center position? It’s hard to recall a championship contender with seven players in the mix. For this night, it was a start for Kevon Looney, token appearances by Damian Jones and Jordan Bell, and no minutes whatsoever for Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee (Draymond Green and David West will remain the mainstays for crunch time).
“I’m confident in playing anybody,” said coach Steve Kerr when asked about the playoffs. “And we might play everybody, depending on the matchups. I’m comfortable with all of ’em. The starting center will change from one game to the next.”
For a team that went 16-1 in last year’s postseason, it’s somewhat frightening to realize that all six of their potential firstround opponents pose a legitimate threat. To elaborate: Utah: Steaming into the playoffs on a hot streak, going 26-5 since late January and leading the Western Conference in defensive efficiency. The Jazz play smart, thanks to capable coach Quin Snyder, and explosive Rookie of the Year candidate Donovan Mitchell has taken over the team in all the right ways. Rudy Gobert anchors the interior defense on a team nobody wants to face in Salt Lake. New Orleans: Just last week, the Pelicans acted like a team feeling the pressure and vanishing from relevance. So much for that. Playing loose and free, they put on quite a show at Oracle. It’s a real shame DeMarcus Cousins is out, but the team’s up-tempo offense really suits the unstoppable Anthony Davis. (Ex-Warrior Ian Clark is out indefinitely with an ankle injury.) San Antonio: Kawhi Leonard’s absence — bafflingly unexplained by everyone, most notably coach Gregg Popovich and Leonard himself — is one of the league’s strangest stories in years. The Warriors humiliated the Spurs in last year’s playoffs once Leonard was sidelined, but never underestimate Popovich’s system, currently at its best when LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Anderson and point guard Dejounte Murray are thriving. The Warriors’ diminished backcourt could suffer in this matchup. Oklahoma City: The Thunder scored a much-needed win at Houston on Saturday night and can never be counted out, even at their disjointed worst. Paul George and Carmelo Anthony won’t ever mesh with Russell Westbrook, but there’s just too much talent to be ignored, especially with Corey Brewer a valuable addition to the starting five. Kerr likes Pachulia in the center matchup with Steven Adams, but does that strategy have legs over a long series? Minnesota: Jimmy Butler is back from his knee injury, and that’s excellent timing for a team that went 8-9 without him. For all of the Timberwolves’ defensive shortcomings — a real disappointment, considering coach Tom Thibodeau’s emphasis on that phase of the game — they’re extremely dangerous with Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and off-the-bench threat Jamal Crawford. Denver: The Nuggets made it five straight wins Saturday, eliminating the Clippers from postseason contention in the process, and moved into a tie for the No. 8 slot. A fully healthy Warriors squad would destroy this team. As it stands, don’t rule out a serious Denver challenge behind clever center Nikola Jokic, veteran Paul Millsap, the Gary Harris-Jamal Murray backcourt and Warrior-killer Will Barton.
How close is this race? Utah, currently in the No. 4 slot, is 1½ games ahead of Denver and Minnesota. Among the things on the Warriors’ must-have list, add a good travel agent.