Warriors fall despite flashes from Wiseman and Curry
Milwaukee wins 138-99 in Christmas rout
The first two games of the season marked a litmus test for these Warriors and, after falling 138-99 to the Bucks in Milwaukee Friday, it’s clear they have a long way to go before joining the class of the NBA.
Though rookie center James Wiseman (18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks) and point guard Stephen Curry (19 points on 6-for-17 shooting, 2-for-10 from 3-point range, six assists and four rebounds in 29 minutes) showed signs of a strong two-man game, they did not get much help from a supporting cast that struggled to make 3-pointers and defend Milwaukee’s shooters.
Bucks forward K hris Middleton (31 points on 10- of-15 shooting, five assists, four rebounds) helped power a 20- 4 run between the third and fourth quarters that opened up a 35-point lead. The Warriors (0-2) — who finished 10- of45 from 3-point range — did not have the offensive firepower to get back into the game while the Bucks shot 54.1% from beyond the arc.
Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four assists before sitting
Having lost to the Nets (1- 0) and Bucks (1-1) by a combined 65 points, the Warriors have a lot of work in front of them if they are to return to the playoffs in the Western Conference.
Getting Draymond Green (foot) back will help organize the offense and fortify the defense, but Golden State also needs better contributions from its wing tandem of Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andrew Wiggins. Fortunately for them, the final two games of this fourgame trip are not as daunting, starting with the Bulls Sunday in Chicago and concluding Tuesday in Detroit.
Here are four takeaways from the Warriors’ loss on Christmas Day. OFFENSIVE PROBLEMS >> After two smooth days of practice, Steve Kerr was disappointed in the team’s lack of execution Friday. On offense, players were not cutting with purpose or making timely reads, and struggled to find open shots. “It was kind of just scattered and disorganized,” he said.
In particular, Oubre Jr. continued to struggle. In his first two games with the Warriors, he has shot 4- of24 overall and missed all 11 of his shots from beyond the arc. As he grapples with developing timing with his new teammates, he’s forcing shots and missing opportunities to make plays.
Perhaps the biggest indicator that the timing is off is the lack of open shots. After two games, the Warriors are shooting 25.6% from 3-point range. Many have been contested, but some have been wide open, and those are the ones the Warriors need to make. Kerr will continue to tinker with his rotations until he finds lineups that click.
On Friday, Kerr went to 3- point shooters Mychal Mulder and Damion Lee earlier in the game, while Kent Bazemore did not check in until the second half. Sometimes, playing smaller shooters can come at the sacrifice of defense. “We’d like to get shooters on the floor, but we’ve got to do it with the right balance.” DEFENSIVE PROBLEMS >> The Warriors defense has held opponents to less than 33 points in only two of eight quarters this season, and points are leaking from beyond the arc and in the paint. They allowed the Nets and Bucks to make 48.6% of their 3-point attempts and score 96 points in the paint. Defending the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Antetokounmpo is understandably difficult, but the Warriors need to improve their communication to wipe away some of the opportunities for opposing role players.
“We’re just throwing this thing together,” Kerr said. “So it’s hard when you don’t have all five guys thinking alike and rotating and playing together.”
Getting on the same page will also help the team create more turnovers and points in transition — which was supposed to be a fundamental part of this team. However on Friday, they scored just 10 points off turnovers.
WISEMAN SHOWS PROMISE >> With most of the Warriors struggling, Wiseman was the team’s most productive player in the first half. Teammates were using his screens almost every time down the floor, and he was rolling and finishing at the rim and even popped out for a few 3-pointers (3of- 4 in the game). Kerr called plays for Wiseman to screen for Curry often but, as he said after the game, he needs other players — namely, Oubre Jr. and Wiggins — to step up in the same way.
“You could see the impact that it made you know James gets going down hill,” Kerr said. “It’s good stuff, but it’s also exhausting. And so to do that for 48 minutes is not possible. What we need is a better balance.”
Kerr added that Wiseman will see more and more minutes as his conditioning improves. Wiseman, 19, also needs to work on recognizing what opponents are doing on offense, communicating on defense and playing at the right pace (not too fast, not too slow). DRAYMOND GREEN INJURY UPDATE >> Green, who accompanied the Warriors on this four-game trip, has been a full participant during practices and is helping coach from the sidelines during games. His return will help the Warriors, but it won’t solve all of their early problems.
“We played two really good teams who have shared championship aspirations — and realistically — and so we got to understand that’s the level that we need to get to,” Curry said. “We’re just not anywhere close to that. So, hopefully he’ll give us a boost. It’s not going to be a cure-all.”