Warriors' abysmal defense sabotages another heroic Steph Curry performance originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Stephen Curry strolled into Moda Center in Portland on Sunday and fried the Trail Blazers for 48 points, 21 in the fourth quarter – and the Warriors lost the lead and the game.
If this feels like déjà vu, please know that it is. Two nights earlier, at Chase Center, Curry lit up the Timberwolves for 39 points, 14 in the fourth quarter – and the Warriors lost the lead and the game.
If Steph were to allow himself a moment to weep, who would not understand?
Instead, Curry walked off the floor with his head high after this 136-131 loss. He was greeted by downcast teammates looking as if they wanted to hug him but offering only polite daps and soft back pats that seemed to serve as silent apologies.
That would not have been necessary if Curry would have prevented the Blazers from scoring 40 points, on 65-percent shooting, in the fourth quarter. Or if he were able to keep the Timberwolves from piling up 39 points, on 70-percent shooting, in the fourth quarter on Friday.
As hard as Curry tries to pull the Warriors from this expanding sea of mediocrity, their defense keeps dragging them back underwater.
“When you make 24 3s – Steph makes 12 of them – you should win the game,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters in Portland.
“And, obviously, we couldn’t stop (the Blazers). They made 20 3s themselves.”
The Blazers, dead last in the NBA3-point shooting efficiency at 32.8 percent, shot 51.3 percent (20 of 39) against Golden State. At least 13 attempts were open, if not wide open.
In defiance of their fourth-rated defense, the Warriors once again did a poor job of stopping penetration, of forcing drivers to their weak hand, and Portland took advantage. When the defense collapsed, the driver almost always had kickout to a teammate lounging beyond the arc.
Deni Avdija swept past Jimmy Butler III and Curry on Portland’s first possession and zipped a 20-foot pass to Jeremi Grant open in the right corner. He drained the triple. Grant, who scored 35 points, shot 7-of-13 from deep, and no Warrior was within eight feet on three of the makes.
When Grant made wide-open 3-balls on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions – both off kickouts from a driver in the paint – it sliced the Warriors’ lead from eight to two in 26 seconds, and Kerr hopped off the bench to call timeout.
Two nights after Minnesota dropped a 17-0 fourth-quarter run on the Warriors, the Blazers cooked up a pivotal 12-0 run, with Grant’s two triples at the heart of it.
“We were up 10, and they scored 10 straight,” Kerr said, shorting Portland by two points. “It felt like we weren’t getting back in transition off our misses, and they got downhill.”
These things are correctable. Every team addresses such deficiencies, and few things chafe the skin of a coaching staff more than poor transition defense.
Kerr, for at least the third time this season, pointed the finger of blame at himself. For their 5-9 record in clutch games, which ranks 12th among Western Conference teams. For the consistently haphazard defensive engagement. For not getting the ball into Butler’s hands with greater frequency, particularly when Curry is sitting.
For the ongoing onslaught of turnovers, which continue despite years of plaintive pleas from Kerr and months of subtle pleas from Butler.
“We gave up 24 points off turnovers, so we’ve got to find a way to connect the game,” Kerr said. “That’s my job. I’m not doing my job well this year. We’re 13-14. We have enough talent to be much better. We’re losing all these close games. I’ve got to find a way to help these guys.”
It’s typical of Kerr to accept blame, and some of it is warranted. He is more tolerant of some young players than others. His rotation patterns and five-man lineups sometimes are baffling.
But, as Butler indicated last month, the coaches and scouts generally put the players in position to be successful. The game plans are solid, but once the ball is tossed up, the execution too often falls flat.
And this is supposed to be the season dedicated to maximizing Curry’s existence. He’s 37. The sun should be setting on a glorious career, but he seems committed to keeping the big ball of heat suspended above.
For the Warriors to have any chance of saving this season and contending – a comical notion for a team that is 0-3 against Portland – Curry must have help. He wants it and, at this stage, doesn’t care who provides it.
Curry scored 48 points on 16-of-26 shooting from the field, including 12-of-19 from distance. He wore out Portland defense, as the Warriors were giving life to Portland’s offense. He’s pulling and pulling, but the dragging continues.
