The search for a silver lining to the Warriors’ early exit from the NBA Cup was originally published on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — The NBA Cup was a chance for the Warriors to compete on the big stage, under bright lights and brighter courts, even in the middle of December. To earn some extra money, they took on the best in the league and proved that their winning culture had been restored.
It all came crashing down to a controversial halt Wednesday night in Houston when the Warriors lost to the Rockets 91-90 in the quarterfinals at the Toyota Center. In more ways than one, the loss might have been the best thing for the Warriors.
After a 12-3 start to the season, it dropped them to 14-10. The Warriors have been vocal in their desire to get to Las Vegas for the semifinals and finals. Every win is important, as is building winning habits. But sometimes a rest and reset is just what the team needs.
Especially during the type of stretch in the schedule the Warriors faced.
“We have one game in the next seven days, so we’re going to have four good practices,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Friday after practice at the Chase Center. “I think it really allows us to address some of those situational things in our offense late in the game, in the last quarter.
“And it’s up to us as a group – the coaches and the players – it’s up to us to make those improvements and start closing out those games.”
Starting with their last game of the NBA Cup group stage, another controversial ending but this time in Denver against the Nuggets, the Warriors have played five games in just over a week. They went 2-3 in that stretch, beating the Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves at home, while also losing to the Timberwolves at home and the Nuggets and Rockets on the road.
Little time was allowed to rest and correct the mistakes that had bitten the Warriors at the worst of times. Now they have the ability to focus on both.
“I think it’s a silver lining,” Kerr said. “We’d rather be playing in Vegas tomorrow, of course, but we’re not.” So let’s use the schedule. Rest, get the guys healthy, engage in best practices and sharpen up for what’s ahead.”
During this grueling five-game stretch amid a month-long stretch of tough games for the Warriors, several players have missed time. Draymond Green (left calf) missed two games, as did Andrew Wiggins (right ankle). Steph Curry (both sides of knee soreness) missed one. Moses Moody (left knee) missed two second halves and sat out the entire final game in Houston.
Time off is needed. Time to lock in on the little things is just as necessary.
What looked like a ticket-to-Vegas win turned into another cold spell for the Warriors on Wednesday night. With the final three minutes scoreless, the Warriors ran off the clock on behind-the-back shots and three straight possessions without even taking a shot.
Organization and execution were the Warriors’ latest buzzwords. Through the first 24 games, the Warriors have gone 15 in the clutch, including 12 of their last 14 and nine of their last 10. They are 7-8 in clutch games this season after going 24-24 last season despite Curry being the MVP of the year in the NBA.
“I think it’s really beneficial for us to have more practice time,” Kevon Looney said. “During the NBA season, it’s really hard to get really good practices. We’ve had more practices than games in this short amount of time, so we have to work on all the execution stuff, all the little things that we keep talking about.” on film that we actually get on the practice field and work through the issues.”
When the Warriors left San Francisco for Houston, they packed up for an 11-day road trip where they would go from Houston to Las Vegas and then Memphis and Minnesota. After they lost, they took Thursday off and then hit the practice court on Friday.
After three days off from the previous contest, Golden State welcomes back Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday before playing until Thursday when the Warriors face the Grizzlies in Memphis before getting on a plane and playing a game. Timberwolves on Saturday in Minnesota.
“We’re taking advantage of them,” Lindy Waters III said of the extra practices. “Unfortunate in this situation, but we have to stay in the moment and know that we have a few practices where we can see where we can do better.”
“During the season we don’t get stretches like this at all, so we’ll just take advantage of it.”
Even at the highest professional level, practice makes perfect.
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