Warriors looking to commit fewer fouls
After loss to Hawks, problem is obvious as team commits third-most fouls in NBA
Asked how the Golden State Warriors can stop fouling, Stephen Curry paused and shook his head.
“I don’t know,” Curry said after Sunday’s 117-111 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. “It’s like the 20th time we’ve been asked that question, and we haven’t figured it out yet.”
It was an honest assessment from Curry. With 50 of 72 games played this season, the Warriors commit the third-most fouls in the league per game and continue to field questions about how they can stop reaching and sending jump-shooters to the line. Two days after suffering the thirdworst loss in franchise history, the Warriors resolved to come out Sunday in Atlanta with renewed energy and focus, but the same issues with fouling persisted.
The Warriors (23-27) used timely rotations, hard close-outs and team rebounding to hold the Hawks (26-24) to 43.2% shooting (37.5% from 3-point range) but committed 26 fouls that led to 35 points at the free-throw line for Atlanta and tilted Sunday night’s result.
“I thought the whole group competed and everybody played hard and together,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “But the lack of discipline killed us. That’s the bottom line.”
Unlike Friday’s 53-point blowout loss to the Raptors, this game featured 17 lead changes and came down to the final minutes.
Curry’s 30-foot moon shot at the end of the third quarter gave the Warriors an 82-79 lead heading into the fourth, but the second unit gave up the lead as Danilo Gallinari made 10
free throws to pace Atlanta’s fourth-quarter push. Lou Williams’ jumper punctuated a 12-4 run that gave the Hawks a 105-98 lead with five minutes remaining.
Even after Curry — who finished with a game-high 37 points — checked back in with 6:30 to go, the Warriors went more than three minutes without a field goal. However, the defense kept them within striking distance.
Down seven with 1:48 to go, Andrew Wiggins’ straight-away 3-pointer cut the deficit to 110-106 with 1:06 remaining, giving the Warriors a chance to steal the game. But Clint Capela’s tip-in with 41 seconds to go, followed by Wiggins’ missed 3-pointer on the next possession put the final stamp on the loss.
After Friday’s embarrassing effort, in which Golden State trailed by more than 50 points by the third quarter, players and coaches talked about competing until the final buzzer. They did that Sunday. Curry poured in shots from all over the court, going
12 for 23, but 3 for 12 from 3-point range. Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Wiggins added 16 points and Draymond Green, back from a finger sprain that sidelined him Friday, had 11 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and four steals.
But the Hawks took 45 total free throws, including 19 in the fourth quarter. No matter Curry’s heroics this season and a defense that has, at times, been dominant, the Warriors have ranked near the bottom of the league in fouls committed.
“We lost the game because we fouled over and
over and over again,” Kerr said. “We talk about it every day. Talked about it before the game. Talked about it at halftime. But it’s as simple as that.”
Over the past few weeks, Kerr has remarked his team is on the precipice of going on a run, believing perhaps the fouling would subside with experience. However, even as defending without fouling is reviewed in film study and drilled in practice, the Warriors cannot shake the constant reaching. The Warriors have lost seven of their last eight games, including three in a row.
“You cannot play the
way that we’ve played the last significant stretch and expect things to change,” Curry said. “We have to make the necessary adjustments.
“I hope it stings. I hope it’s uncomfortable. I hope it motivates you to keep grinding,” he continued. “I hope nobody is content just being in this middleof-the-road situation. We’re going to find out how we respond down the stretch of the season. See what we’re made of.”
As of now, Golden State is still in 10th place and in possession of the final spot of the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. A valuable homestand awaits: the Warriors will play their next four games at home, starting Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks. After that, soft games against Washington and Houston provide a reprieve and a chance to build some momentum. Those teams are beatable, but only if the Warriors stop beating themselves.
“I think the guys are still confident we can squeeze our way into the playoffs,” forward Juan Toscano-Anderson said. “We just have to stop fouling and put ourselves in a better position to get the game.”