The Warriors were outplayed by the Indiana Pacers Friday night, in a 123-111 loss that leaves them 4-6 in their last 10 games, and suddenly fighting to remain in the play-in picture.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Myles Turner was an issue, Kuminga struggled
One glaring problem for Golden State was the presence of Myles Turner. He changed myriad shots Wednesday night, and blocked five of them. In doing so, passed Jermaine O'Neal for the most blocks in Pacers history, with 1,248 O'Neal had 1,245.
Jonathan Kuminga was the main recipient of that defensive stoutness. He simply could not find a rhythm driving to the lane. There were a couple of moments after transition dunks, in which it seemed like he might snap out of it.
But Turner's presence was a major problem for him. Kuminga, a 53.4 percent shooter on the year, was a woeful 4-of-17 on the night, and defaulted to far too many long-range attempts when his inside game failed him. He was 0-of-3 from 3-point range on the night, as was Andrew Wiggins.
This was a game Golden State was desperate for him to offer something consistent offensively. He just couldn't crack the code, and looked out-sized, and out game-planned. His 11 points were a huge reason for the loss, and emblematic of a larger problem for the Warriors, when their main lane penetrator can't get it going.
It all falls apart in the third quarter
While Thompson got hot for a moment, he started to chuck. Even going 6-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-10 from deep for 17 points made him a more valuable offensive contributor than either of Kuminga, or Wiggins. The latter scored the first couple points of the game, appeared to look aggressive, then disappeared in an 8-point (4-of-11, 0-of-3 from deep), 5-rebound, 1-assist night.
Stephen Curry didn't have an excellent shooting night, either. While he had 13 points in the first quarter alone, he finished with 25 (plus 10 rebounds and 5 assists) over the final three frames, and went 9-of-24 from the field and 6-of-18 from deep.
While the Warriors were in lock-step with the Pacers on the scoreboard, Indiana's firepower felt more real in the first half. They were hitting 3-pointers everywhere, at an alarming rate that seemed sustainable. They finished 15-of-36 (41.7 percent) from deep, with that percentage taking a hit in the fourth.
In the third quarter, it all started falling apart. Tyrese Haliburton, who had struggled massively from deep as of late (shooting 19.5 percent over the past 13 games) was locked in.
He seemed incapable of missing, and led the Pacers on an offensive run the Warriors had little answer for. Golden State began the half up a point, and was on the verge of ending it down 11. That would have been a blessing. Instead, Haliburton knocked down a rainbow to put the Warriors in a 14-point hole to start the fourth.
Haliburton, who had 26 points (9-of-18, 4-of-8 from 3-pt), 2 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks, was excellent.
He got quite a few of those assists to Pascal Siakam, the wing the Warriors were rumored to have interest in at the trade deadline. He made them rue the fact that they did not acquire him, tallying 25 points (11-of-17, 1-of-3 from deep), 16 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal.
As the league's second-best offense (119.8 offensive rating), it's not much of a surprise. What damned the Warriors was their poor shot selection. In the final 6:27 of the third, they were out-scored 22-9.
Even when they played excellent fourth-quarter defense, they seemed to have exhausted themselves. They turned it over six times in the final frame, and couldn't hit anything from range. They finished 14-of-48 (29.2 percent) from deep.
So, how about those sixth seed dreams? *chuckles*
If the Warriors are going to make a run to the sixth seed... wait, why are you laughing? Stop laughing. C'mon, they could do it! Aaand... you're laughing harder. Alright.
The Warriors are heading for the play-in. That much is obvious. Unless they win their final 13, or maybe 12 of their final 13, sweeping the Dallas Mavericks in their remaining two games with them, avoiding the play-in tournament is pretty much off the table.
Reasonably, the best they can hope for at the moment is to host the Lakers in the play-in tournament, beat them, and sneak into the playoffs with a win over the Mavericks, Suns or Kings as the eighth seed. Yikes.
The more harrowing possibility at this point, thought it may be distant, is the Houston Rockets superseding the Warriors. They are just 2.0 games back in the standings, and play Golden State April 4.
The Rockets have a much tougher schedule, and are a worse team. But at this moment, they have won seven-straight games.
It is a far more reasonable possibility for the Rockets to catch up than for the Warriors going scorched earth, and winning at minimum, 10 of the last 13, with a pair against the Mavericks, and one against the Timberwolves, Magic, Lakers and Pelicans.
So, why stay locked in with this team? What's their purpose in the final 13 games? To see if they can get hot when it matters.
Andrew Wiggins has shown flashes of effort on the glass, and on offense. Brandin Podziemski's shot was finally working again. Klay Thompson looked as good as he had all year. If this team gets in the dance, they still have pieces to spoil someone's party. But it has to click at the right time.
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