Looking to recharge
Playoff runs are taking toll on Warriors
HOUSTON — It sure was strange watching the Warriors fizzle in the fourth quarter Tuesday night.
They looked worn out and tired in the closing minutes of Game 4, unable to muster the requisite energy to fend off the hard-charging Rockets. The Warriors were up 10 at the start of the period, and you just don’t see them blow a lead like that. Not in the playoffs.
But blow it they did and now the Western Conference finals are tied at two games apiece.
The loss didn’t sit well with the Warriors. Head coach Steve Kerr said he had trouble sleeping Tuesday night. Draymond Green, the team’s in-house barometer, said the players were “pissed off,” having frittered away a golden chance to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
So, instead of comfort, the Warriors have conflict. On the basis of homecourt advantage, Houston holds the upper hand going into Thursday’s Game 5. The Warriors counter with
experience and talent. They’ve been here before. Many times.
Now there are plenty of obvious reasons the Warriors lost Game 4. Too much isolation ball on offense. Not enough passing — only 14 assists (after averaging an NBA-best 29.3 in the regular season). Houston got physical, and Golden State didn’t respond well. Andre Iguodala was out, followed by Klay Thompson for a stretch. Kerr’s rotation has shrunk, with five centers sitting on the bench and not contributing. All that adds up.
But what if there’s something deeper happening? What if all these years of deep playoff runs might be catching up with the Warriors?
No one has played more basketball than the Warriors over the past four seasons, excepting the seemingly ageless LeBron James. Three straight trips to the NBA Finals. A couple of seven-game series. Offseason barnstorming in China. The Summer Olympics. AllStar Games. It all adds up to some serious mileage, and the tires are showing some wear.
The Warriors have played 76 playoff games in the past four seasons, adding almost an entire extra season to their workload. That’s five seasons in four years. That’s flying over 200,000 miles. That’ll tire you out.
You could see it on the injury report all season long. Stephen Curry missed 31 games. Iguodala was out for 18. Green (12) and Durant (14 ) took their turns on the bench. Even ironman Thompson sat out nine. Kerr did what he could to limit everyone’s minutes, keeping his starters fresh, but there’s not much he can do to erase the effects of a four-year marathon.
In the playoffs, it’s been more of the same. Curry was hurt again to start, now followed by Iguodala and Thompson, both of whom are questionable for Game 5. Kerr did his best to juggle lineups and personnel in the early rounds, against the Spurs and Pelicans, but that seems to be over. It’s no coincidence the Hamptons 5 are feeling the burn. They’ve played more ball than Uncle Drew.
It doesn’t help that Kerr has shortened his rotation during this Houston series, ignoring all of his centers and relying on the small lineup more than ever before. In Game 4, Durant (43) and Green (45) logged season highs for minutes.
That’s a lot to ask and it backfired. The car ran out of gas.
“Yeah, we did,” said guard Shaun Livingston, one of the few subs still getting meaningful minutes. “Starters played heavy minutes. … They were more physical tonight and we weren’t.”
Livingston’s hitting on a key point. Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni recognizes that the Warriors still have the superior roster. But if the Rockets can make the game a physical grind and wear down the weary Warriors in the process, Houston has every chance to advance.
It worked in Game 4. We’ll see if the Warriors can counterpunch in Game 5.
As one would expect from the defending champs, they have no doubt in their minds. And don’t give them any of this fatigue talk, either.
“Fatigue is not an excuse for either side, so that will never creep into your mind,” Curry said. “You look at how the game went, we were in pretty good shape for 44 minutes with a chance to win and really take control of the series, but it didn’t happen.”
Sound mind, shaky legs? That could be the case, with Curry, Thompson and Iguodala all nursing a variety of knee ailments. That’s especially troubling against a team like Houston, which lives on the perimeter and forces the other team’s backcourt into tiring one-on-one defense.
To be fair, the Rockets’ Chris Paul is also playing with a squeaky wheel, but he looked pretty good in the fourth quarter Tuesday night. We are deep in the playoffs and every player out there is dealing with some type of physical issue.
Injury and fatigue loom large at this time of the year, but you’ll never hear it from any of the players. It’s part of the code among professional athletes. If you’re on the court, you can’t make any excuses.
Now it’s time for the Warriors to back up that sentiment. We know it has been a long road. We know they’re banged up and tired. We know they’re getting stretched to their mental and physical limits.
We’re going to find out if they have the hearts, minds and legs of champions.