The Golden State Warriors knew that they had a difficult job facing the Sacramento Kings, as they were without their best offensive player (Steph Curry, eliminated due to coccyx inflammation) and their best defender (Draymond Green, eliminated due to illness).
As wild as it may seem, they ended up missing the latter even more than the former.
The Warriors played a surprisingly solid attack in the 141-119 loss to the Kings, but as the score suggests, their defense was atrocious. Sacramento scored at least 34 points each quarter and … look, you watch basketball regularly, you understand what that means. You will not win when you allow a team to do so, and in related news, you will not win when you allow your opponent to shoot 60.2% of the field.
But that is exactly what happened. De’Aaron Fox had a career record of 44 points for extremely efficient pitches (16 out of 22 from the field), leading to a very funny reality; the Warriors lost Brad Wanamaker. And very badly, with that.
There was no way to stop the Kings at the point of attack. There was no way to stop the Kings at the edge. There was no way to stop the Kings beyond the arch. There was no way to stop the Kings anywhere, until the doorbell rang ruthlessly.
Dubs were defensively useless, and their only hope was the useless task of trying to keep up with the pace. For a while, yes, and they even led after the first quarter. It was an offensive performance, sometimes lively, with 37 points in the first quarter and another 33 in the last stage.
The numbers look good for the Warriors at that end of the court: they have surpassed 50% of the pitches on both the pitch and the three-point line, and five players have eclipsed the 15-point mark, including a record 19 for newcomer Nico Mannion and perfect pitch night (6-to-6 from the field, 3-to-3 from the back) for Juan Toscano-Anderson .. But any offensive emotion was lost under a defensive effort that gave Kings as much resistance as a cone of plastic security gives a Ford F-150.
We’re counting the days until Curry’s return. But it’s pretty clear how much this team misses Green too.