Is the Warriors' inability to hold leads a concern?
The Golden State Warriors have lost games in which they were up by 14 and 24 points showing a concerning inability to maintain big leads.
The Golden State Warriors blew the most famous lead of all-time last June. Since then, they’ve struggled to hold onto leads with much smaller stakes. They let a 14 point advantage slip away before Kyrie Irving hit a dagger turnaround on Christmas Day. Last night, they let the Grizzlies overcome a 24 point advantage before falling in overtime.
Golden State was unbeatable once they built a 15 point lead over the previous two seasons. Teams could just call it a night once the Warriors reached that margin because there was no coming back. Either Steph Curry and co. would just pile on and stretch that to a 20 or 25 point lead or a Shaun Livingston-led bench could hold onto the lead.
Now? Not so much. The Warriors’ bench unit hasn’t been too reliable and their core lineup as faltered in the fourth quarter. Their (Super) Death Lineup that used to crush the human spirit with Harrison Barnes playing the 4 is, for whatever reason, not doing that with Kevin Durant in that spot.
It’s hard to say what’s “wrong” with the Warriors when it comes to holding leads. It’s, most likely, a combination of a lot of different things. From chemistry to execution, these Warriors are figuring out how to win.
Once upon a time, falling behind to Curry’s Warriors felt like a death sentence. There was no coming back. Now, it doesn’t seem like anyone is afraid of Golden State. No lead is too big or insurmountable.
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Teams play harder against the Warriors, especially since Kevin Durant joined them. This, at some level, has to come into play here. Teams don’t just want to roll over and accept a loss.
Golden State’s improbable fall in the Finals and their struggles in the early part of this year also provide hope. No lead is safe in the NBA, even against the mighty Warriors. You just need to execute on both ends of the floor and you can come back against any team.
Speaking of execution, the Warriors haven’t figured out how to do that down the stretch. Steve Kerr uses Curry as a decoy far too often, leaving the league’s first unanimous MVP hidden in a corner waiting for a pass. Kevin Durant settles for silly shots when he can get to any spot on the floor he wants pretty much at will.
The Warriors go away from what they do best. They don’t exploit mismatches or put the ball in their best players’ hands in positions where they can make plays. It gets really sloppy and they force a lot of shots.
The biggest area of concern in the Warriors’ latest blown lead was Curry and Durant’s mini power struggle. The point guard held the ball and was trying to reset and run a play. Durant called for the ball, waved off a screen, didn’t run a play, and settle for a bad three-pointer. It looked like the two MVPs were taking turns, a problem Durant had in Oklahoma City with Russell Westbrook.
It’s never good to give up good leads and the Warriors are starting to make a habit of it. They’ve won games in which the final score was a lot closer than it should have been. Golden State races off to fast starts and then slows down until the opposition gets back into it.
These blown leads are problematic. It normally happens when the reserves are in the game and it shows that they can’t maintain leads. Their inability to consistently control the game can also be an issue when they play the Cavaliers, who recently added Kyle Korver and made their bench even deeper.
However, the blown leads are not a huge concern in the long run. Often times, it’s the bench unit that kills all Golden State momentum. Livingston and Andre Iguodala are having down years and their space-limiting lineup with David West is still figuring out how to play.
In the playoffs, when it counts the most, Steve Kerr should ride his stars. I think we’ve all re-lived Game 7 of the NBA Finals enough to realize that guarding the greatest talent of all-time with Festus Ezeli and Anderson Varejao is a horrible idea that should never happen again. The Warriors can’t rely on multiple bench guys to win the biggest moments.
The Super Death Lineup is still learning how to play together. The fact that they can build huge leads is more telling than the fact that they’ve let a few get away with them. Both Curry and Durant played under 40 minutes when they lost to the Cavs on Christmas. The postseason should increase their minutes and lower their chances of forfeiting leads.
The Warriors’ main concern should be their execution down the stretch in close games, not giving up leads. When the game slows down and they need a bucket, they need to figure out how they’re going to get it.
