LOS ANGELES — Stephen Curry, as usual, casually glanced at the box score while giving a lengthy answer about a specific part of Saturday’s big win over the Lakers, then looked at numbers that had little to do with his point. I took a peek, but he stopped and smiled.
And scream.
“only 18 free throws! ” Curry scoffed incredulously about the Lakers’ total count. “Yeah!”
This was one of many things for the Warriors to celebrate after their 128-121 win at Crypto.com Arena, which improved their record to 35-31 and the ninth seed in the Western Conference ( And that possibility), they trailed the Lakers by just a point. They earned home court advantage against the Lakers in a do-or-die 9-10 play-in game and at least temporarily reversed their recent 1-3 slump, which included a game in which Curry injured his ankle and missed the next three games. stopped. .
Curry returned on Saturday and seemed to be in great spirits. Draymond Green returned from sidelined with a back injury and had 13 assists and 12 rebounds in an impressive 34 minutes. The Warriors as a whole played like a cannonball from the start, but Steve Kerr told them they had to treat this like a playoff game and they needed to give it their all for the rest of the game. It was the next day. schedule.
But Curry’s excited non-sequiturs got to the heart of the game’s two most important developments.
• The Warriors also brought playoff desperation and playoff toughness. They fell apart with the Lakers, but they were especially effective after Anthony Davis left the game after being poked in the eye. The Warriors outscored the Lakers 45-39 and were able to win this game simply by picking up most loose balls and pushing and pulling LeBron James.
• The Warriors’ physical style fits well with the NBA’s recent trend of fewer foul calls and fewer free-throw attempts, which was a move by the league after some previous free-for-all scoring. It is unclear whether he was instructed to do so.
Saturday’s result: The Lakers, who entered the game averaging 23.8 free throw attempts per game, the sixth-most in the league, were furious that the Warriors didn’t get a whistle during the game and complained about it. He leaked and ended many possessions. They were busy running down the court with the ball and an easy path to the basket.
Is it possible that the Warriors, whose 3-point shooting spree helped spark the NBA’s epic scoring wave, are one of the teams that would benefit the most from letting their defense grab and fight a little more? Yes, it is. It’s more than possible. Think of Draymond at his best, leaning into his offensive players as much as possible and attacking the ball hard. Think back to those death lineup splashes where Andre Iguodala’s swipes, steals, and fast break initiations were often key.
Carr has been telegraphing this for several weeks. He has publicly stated how much he hates seeing all the foul calls caused by offensive players simply throwing their bodies at defenders. Kerr despises this on an aesthetic level, but I would doubt it because the Warriors aren’t really built to draw or avoid those types of fouls. The fewer fouls called league-wide, the better for the Warriors, and the Warriors come into the game averaging 21.2 free throw attempts, the 12th-fewest in the league, and allowing their opponents to take 23.4 shots per game. It was the 9th most common.
“I like it,” Kerr said after the game. “We let both teams play, especially in the first half, but it’s a better game when you don’t call cheap stuff. And even with no calls, it was 67-66 (at halftime). I think that’s the point – today. The players are very skilled and the offense is very deadly with spacing and shooting and the way the team plays. So these guys don’t need any help.
“Regardless of what’s happened over the last few weeks, consciously or not, I love the change. It’s great for the game.”
And can the Warriors play this kind of game?
“I think we’re a good fit. We don’t go to the line a lot anyway,” Kerr said. “And we don’t have any foul baiters on our team either.”
More pointedly, this is what almost always happens in the playoffs anyway. Authorities left many of the cruder ones alone. Free throws due to accidental contact are not guaranteed or recommended. You must be prepared to jump without a whistle.
So if the Warriors can maintain that kind of energy (and if Curry, Draymond, Klay Thompson and the rest of their frontliners can stay healthy), they can thrive in games like this. They have had success in dozens of games like this. They won four championships in this way. They have Curry and Klay and the emerging Jonathan Kuminga, so at their best they can find ways to score from rough defenses. However, the Warriors have become older and slower, so if they can’t mix things up even a little, they won’t be able to stop their great offense.
I don’t think they are destined to win the No. 5 championship this postseason, but the only way they have a chance to at least go a few rounds is if they play with this kind of physicality and the referees make the calls. That is if you don’t give up. Bring the opponent closer to the line 30 times or more per game.
“I always enjoy this time of the year when you don’t get ticking fouls. You have to play through contact,” Draymond said. “We’re not going to sell phones because we’re a team. If Steph’s life is at stake, we can’t have people selling phones. Clay’s not going to sell phones. We’re a team that does that naturally. is.
“We’ve always said we don’t want to learn or practice flopping. (Because) all of a sudden you go to the playoffs and you’re doing what you’ve been practicing, but they don’t call it . Those are turnovers. And we’ve welcomed teams that do that over the years. We don’t want to be that team. We play through contact and get the job done. We take pride in that. I think that’s great for us.”
But can the Warriors keep this up? we will see. It’s significant that Kerr pushed so hard in this game with 16 games remaining.If the Warriors sprint to the goal line, that’s length Sprint. They may not be able to push things this hard.
But the logic is clear. The Warriors should try to get as high up in the standings as possible, with a seventh or eighth seed probably being the best they can get. They also need to build up some momentum as they finish this season. Even if they make it past the play-in round, they’ll probably end up facing one of the Western superpowers in the first round…because they probably won’t get much of a break.
There, Kerr evoked Warriors pride and a full-throated desire to keep this dynasty going, at least a little longer. And at the end of this uneven season, the Warriors responded for him and for themselves. They raised their claws. they came firing. They had the kind of road game feel that turned the tide in some epic series over the years, including Memphis, Boston, Houston, and Cleveland.
“Sometimes when you’re in a situation like this, you’re like, ‘Do we talk about it?'” Draymond said. “Isn’t there more pressure? I thought it was amazing that Steve came in and said, ‘Listen, this is a big game.’ It’s a playoff game. And we need to come in with that kind of focus and win. ” Everybody was locked in and got the job done. ”
At least for one game. The Warriors are in playoff mode earlier in the season than we’ve ever seen in this era, which is inevitable and will be interesting to watch over the next few weeks. Just to see if they can keep it going and if the whistle remains mostly silent as they go.
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(Top photo of Stephen Curry during Saturday’s win: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)