Warriors still on right path despite loss
If you bought into the notion that the Warriors are once again serious contenders to defend their title following the team's five-game home winning streak, the Dubs' Sunday loss to the Lakers was a test.
Can you separate the method from the result? If you can, you're coming out of Sunday's contest with unchanged confidence in the Dubs.
The result didn't go the Warriors' way, but there was far more good than bad to take away from the contest. This is still a team on the right path after months of wandering.
After all, Steph Curry returned to the court after a month sidelined and looked like he was never injured. The Warriors took a moment or two to recalibrate to having him on the floor, but by the second half, it was all systems go. The Warriors played strong defense and moved the ball on offense without Curry, and they eventually did the same with him.
The Warriors' issue was that they didn't break the habit of spotting the opposing team an early double-digit lead (it was 20 points to the Lakers Sunday), and little things didn't go their way.
The early deficits can be fixed. Stop spotting opponents big early leads, and the game probably becomes a lot easier. The Warriors beat the Lakers by seven after the first quarter.
The bad luck? Welcome to life on the road. After a week-plus of charmed play at Chase Center, things didn't go the Warriors' way Sunday.
The margins are tight for the Warriors this season, so it will have an effect when a dozen good-looking shots rim out in Los Angeles. Even half of them falling — and they looked like they should fall — would have turned the game.
If the whistle went the Warriors' way on Sunday, the game probably goes their way, too. Ultimately, the home team receives a more favorable whistle in the NBA — something the Dubs took advantage of this past week.
And role players do better at home. For the Lakers, that manifested into Austin Reaves scoring 16 points and dishing out eight rebounds on Sunday, while Troy Brown — who averages one 3-pointer per game this season — made four.
Meanwhile, the Warriors had no-show performances from Jordan Poole (10 points) and Jonathan Kuminga (minus-15 rating).
But that's just how it goes on the road.
So don't make life more difficult than it needs to be.
On a day when Lakers center Anthony Davis decided to take advantage of the Warriors' lack of size, you can't spot your opponent 20 points. That's how you lose. (Though Davis was one more clanked jump shot away from being the reason the Dubs won.)
But if the Warriors start games better and replicate Sunday's performance, they'll win far more than they lose — even on the road, where they are 7-24 on the season.
Sunday was Anthony Lamb's 50th NBA game this season — the limit for a two-way player.
Unless the Warriors sign the wing to a full — albeit prorated — NBA contract, he cannot play for the team again this regular or postseason.
There is no question of whether Lamb deserves the big-league deal. His play, as of late, has been fantastic and vital for the Dubs. Steve Kerr wants him on the team.
“He plays an important role for us,” Kerr said after Sunday's game. “He connects a lot of lineups with his ability to space the floor and shoot the 3. He plays the way we've always played.”
The question is if the Warriors want to spend the money to sign him.
Even for a contract that's prorated and likely to a league-minimum deal, signing Lamb could cost the Warriors more than $2 million because of the luxury tax.
With Andre Iguodala's return (he looked solid, if a bit rusty) and the possible return of Andrew Wiggins (out with a family matter), there's a world where the Warriors' brass decides that Lamb isn't worth the cost.
That would be valuing money over what's best for the team and winning.
For an organization and ownership group that has griped about rising costs but has still cut checks when it's time to put up or shut up, how prolonged this Lamb contract situation lingers could establish a new, unbecoming precedent.
Curry's re-entry into the lineup provided a boost to the Warriors, but after the game, he noted how he and Iguodala coming back into the fold created problems for the Dubs:
“The way that our roster is constructed — the amount of guys you can throw in there on a nightto-night basis. The way our guys have been playing over the last five games and the stretch we had at home. It's a tough transition for everybody… guys just trying to keep their rhythm, keep their confidence, that's our
challenge a team,” Curry said.
“We have to maintain trust in each other as we do that. We're all aiming for the same goal, to win at the highest level. Understanding that everybody as a part of that. It's not just about me coming back. It's not just about what Andre can bring. We're trying to lift up everybody up together, because we need everybody to win.
We have to stay optimistic about where we're headed.”
There are countless reasons why the Warriors have hung four title banners in the last nine seasons.
Curry's selflessness and leadership are perhaps chief among them.
There are many great players in this league. There are plenty of outstanding leaders in this league.
There's only one Curry, though.
There's nothing fake about Curry's selflessness. He's been at it too long for it to be an act.
On the day he returned from a month-long absence, he was seriously concerned about how his return to the lineup affected his teammates. He was thinking about what he can do to ensure that everyone feels — and is — involved.
It's hard not to be successful when that is the mindset of your team's best player.
You'd be a fool to bet against this guy.