Russell ejected, defense dejected, offense rejected
OKLAHOMA CITY — Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell sprang to his feet, stepped toward referee James Williams and unleashed a verbal tirade.
Even after Russell picked up a technical, he didn’t relent, jawing as he followed Williams to the sideline and was ejected. Russell was upset that Thunder guard Chris Paul hadn’t been whistled for a foul for apparently hitting Russell on his drive to the rim, but Russell’s frustration likely went much deeper.
Midway through the third quarter, the Warriors were well on their way to a 12092 loss to Oklahoma City at Chesapeake Energy Arena. This was another low for a team that opened
training camp threeplus weeks ago eager to prove this would be more than just a transitional season.
When the Warriors dropped their opener by 19 points to the Clippers on Thursday, they at least could take solace in the fact that Los Angeles is a expected to be a championship contender. The Thunder, who hopes just to make the playoffs in their first season without Russell Westbrook and Paul George, seemed to offer a chance for a bounceback performance.
But with Kevin Durant gone and Klay Thompson injured, Golden State quickly is realizing that little is guaranteed. For the second straight game, the Warriors did not lead. They watched a 33point halftime deficit balloon to 42 early in the fourth quarter.
It was the type of schoolyard pummeling Golden State had made its signature during a dynastic fiveyear run that is already starting to feel like a distant memory. As forward Draymond Green put it, “The reality is, we f—ing suck right now. Hopefully, we’ll get better. We’ll continue to work at trying to get better, but we’re just not that good right now.”
With Kevon Looney added Sunday to an already lengthy injury list, the Warriors must play players out of position. Their two primary centers — Marquese Chriss and Omari Spellman — are more power forwards by trade.
Strapped with limited depth, few proven scorers outside of Russell and Stephen Curry, and no elite defenders other than Green, Golden State has to play clean, highenergy basketball to compete even with a conference afterthought. That was far from the case Sunday.
From the opening tip, the Warriors appeared in a daze, committing silly turnovers, playing matador defense and hoisting questionable jumpers. Curry, again facing a parade of doubleteams, struggled to find room as his supporting cast failed to alleviate his burden. He scored 23, but missed 11 of 18 shots — including seven of nine 3point tries.
In addition to piling up 23 turnovers, the Warriors shot 32.6% from the field and 15.2% from 3point range. Russell had just six points on 3for10 shooting before he got ejected. Glenn Robinson III, Golden State’s starting small forward, missed six of his seven shots. Jordan Poole wasn’t any better, coming off the bench to score six on 1for9 shooting.
Not that it mattered, however. The Warriors’ defense was a cavalcade of botched boxouts and missed reads.
Including Thursday’s dud against the Clippers, Golden State gave up 30plus points in seven straight quarters to open the season. With Dennis Schroder (22 points, eight rebounds), Danilo Gallinari (21 points) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (19 points on 14 shots) getting wideopen looks, the Thunder shot 55.7% from the field and made 15 3pointers.
“That was embarrassing,” Spellman said. “We’ve got to compete. To be down 33 at halftime, that’s tough. I know Steph, Dray, they’re all not happy. We’re going to come back, and this is not where we’re going to finish.
“It’s Game 2, but there’s only so many times you can keep saying that. We’ve got to compete.”
With little going right for the Warriors, Russell grew increasingly frustrated as the game progressed. His thirdquarter ejection, the first of his NBA career, came as no surprise to those who had watched his pleas to Williams much of the afternoon.
Russell’s only reprieve was an early exit. At least he got a break from what has been a sobering start to the season.
Asked whether he was happy to have a chance to exorcise the memory of Sunday’s blowout with a game Monday night in New Orleans, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, “I’m looking forward to the Modelo waiting for me at my locker.”