Young players still learning to control opponents
SAN FRANCISCO >> Sunday marked the ninth time this season the Warriors have allowed their opponent to shoot better than 50% from the field.
Only Washington (13), Cleveland (12) and Atlanta (10) have allowed it to happen more. They are 0-9 in those games.
As for all the defensive improvement, Sunday’s 10079 loss to the Kings was the first time the Warriors allowed their opponent to shoot better than 60% since the first game of the season against the Clippers.
The Warriors’ young defenders allowed the Kings’ top scorers to get to their spots and consistently went under screens on their best shooters. Hield, forward Harrison Barnes, Bogdanovic and Marvin Bagley III — their top four healthy point getters — took 46 of Sacramento’s 63 shots.
“That’s a big issue for young players,” Kerr said of recognizing the opponent’s personnel. “You have to know personnel around the league.
“Everything happens really fast out there, so you have to make good decisions on the fly and those decisions have to be based on your awareness and knowledge of your opponents. That’s something that we have to continue to work on.”
Other thoughts on the Warriors:
RELIANCE ON PLAYERS ON TWO-WAY CONTRACTS >> The Warriors lead the league with 373 total points contributed by two-way players this season. The next closest teams? The Rockets (93) and Heat (91).
To illustrate Golden State’s reliance on two-way players Ky Bowman and Damion Lee: Through 28 games, that’s more than last season’s leader, the Grizzlies (323), had all of last season.
Lee (13 points on 6-of15 shooting, five rebounds and five assists in his firstever start for the Warriors) has used up 19 of his allotted days with Golden State. Once he reaches the 45-day limit of his two-way contract, he’ll be relegated to the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
Bowman has already been stashed in Santa Cruz with only 13 days of NBA eligibility left.
The Warriors are getting healthy, but that won’t change the fact that Lee and Bowman are among their most productive players.
While the front office sorts through options to convert Bowman to a 15man roster spot, they’ll also have to give some thought to Lee, who has done enough this season to warrant a roster spot somewhere in the league.
A WEIRD GAME >> “I’ve never seen a box score like this where we forced 29 turnovers and lost by 21 points. It’s almost impossible to do that,” Kerr said. “It shows you have poorly we played.”
It’s happened only eight times since 1983. Most recently in 2001, when the Jazz beat (guess who) the Warriors 100-78 despite committing 30 turnovers.