A lack of discipline dogs Golden State
Forty minutes after the Warriors’ 117111 loss to the Hawks at State Farm Arena on Sunday night, Stephen Curry paused for a moment as he considered the question: How can Golden State fix its fouling problems?
“I don’t know, man,” Curry said, shaking his head slightly. “It’s like the 20th time we’ve been asked that question, and we haven’t figured it out yet.”
The fatigue in Curry’s voice was telling. For an overhauled roster, silly fouls should be expected for a couple of weeks — perhaps even an entire month. But for the past threeplus months, head coach Steve Kerr has stressed to his players not biting on pump fakes or reaching in, only for those nagging issues to still plague them.
By repeatedly sending the Hawks to the foul line Sunday, Golden State wasted another memorable performance from guard Stephen Curry as it slid four games below .500 more than twothirds of the way through the season. Postgame Zoom interviews were largely spent talking about “staying disciplined” — a twoword phrase that, if not carried out, means little.
Curry and his teammates recognize as much, but they’re not sure what else to say. All of the predictions about “breakthroughs” and “turning points” have yet to materialize as the Warriors fade to the fringe of the playoff picture.
It didn’t matter Sunday that Golden State, fueled by the desire to exorcise the memory of Friday’s 53point loss to the Raptors, sprinted back on defense, dived for loose balls and cut hard to the rim. After arriving in Atlanta third tolast in the NBA with 21.7 fouls per game, the Warriors committed 26 on Sunday to gift the Hawks 45 free throws.
The league’s fifthbest foulshooting team, the Hawks converted 35 of the 45 to ensure their third straight win. After Curry’s 3pointer with 2:38 left cut the Warriors’ deficit to three, Golden State gave up a 12foot jumper to Atlanta guard Lou Williams before Damion Lee fouled Hawks center Clint Capela on a tip shot.
That and1 from Capela pushed the Hawks’ lead to 110103 with less than two minutes remaining and left the Warriors with little recourse: They’d have to start fouling on purpose. The fact that Atlanta polished off the victory at the freethrow line was fitting considering that was one of the few areas on the floor where it boasted a noticeable advantage over Golden State.
The Warriors shot 46.7% from the field, got a 37point gem from Curry and a doubledouble (11 points, 11 rebounds) from forward Draymond Green, outscored Atlanta 6234 in the paint and hoisted 11 more shots than the Hawks. But they attempted just 21 free throws — less than half as many as their opponent. Every Golden State player who checked in other than Green, Curry and center James Wiseman committed multiple fouls.
“The lack of discipline killed us,” Kerr said. “That’s the bottom line.”
It’s the continuation of a troubling trend for the Warriors, who have let unforced errors put them 10th in the Western Conference standings with 22 games left. Video review of Sunday’s game won’t tell Golden State anything it doesn’t already know: It needs to make “staying disciplined” more than just something it says in postgame interviews.
Otherwise, the Warriors could be at risk of letting this 17 rut snowball into a lost season.
“I think the guys are still confident we can squeeze our way into the playoffs,” said forward Juan ToscanoAnderson, who had three fouls in less than six minutes. “We just have to stop fouling and put ourselves in a better position to get the game.”