A bitter End and a Burning Wake-up Call.
The loss stings. A 104–100 loss at home to the Houston Rockets was enough to plunge the Warriors out of the NBA Cup, which caught the postseason glory goal dead short in the same championship. However, more devastating than the scoreboard was not only the scoreboard, it was the after-game wakeup call given by Jimmy Butler.
Butler did not sugarcoat the problem as boos rang inside the arena. He faulted what he believed to be the root problem: commitment with candor and frustration. We do not box out, we do not go with the scouting report, and we allow anybody to do whatever he wants; open shots, paint drives, free throws, etc., he told reporters. “It’s just sad.” The words highlighted an ugly reality that, despite allthe offensive gun power in the hands of the Golden State, there was no defensive work and drill.
Stats Don’t Hide the Mess
The outcome, though, on a balanced scoring sheet, six Warriors in the top tens and Butler as the team leader with 21 points, five rebounds, and five assists, is a revelation of what was glaringly wrong. The arms of the opposition were in full blast, particularly where key assignments in the paint were not maintained. At the same time, the champion of the Warriors, Stephen Curry, who could only score 14 points on the night, could not shoulder the burden single-handedly.
Butler had been frustrated twice: not just the lost game, but the manner in which the game had been lost showed problems within the system. Defense, communication, the intangible, heart, fight, attention to basics, were all apparently missing.
Without Curry: What’s Next?
The losses were more painful since the absence of Curry was looming. The Warriors are now in a dangerous period, with a quad contusion possibly putting him out at least a week. But Butler was not going to give reasons: We are going to have to be damn near perfect, he warned. We can not depend upon a bailout in the hands of a single player every night.
It was a call to arms among the other roster. Curry is gone, so it is upon role-players and veterans alike to turn up, not just to score, but to be gritty, to defend, to have a mindset prepared to fight.
Culture Test on Golden State.
Butler did not mean a game, but about identity. The Warriors, despite their offensive flair, have had issues of consistency on the defensive side, the turnover and rebounding. Their weaknesses were exposed in the glaring light.
In silent locker rooms, in recent-day practices, there is silence, but answered questions in the franchise: Is this a competitor still based on strength and unity – or is it a group of skaters riding on its laurels and individual endowments?
Butler proposed that accountability is due. Their absence for the next few games, when they are under pressure and their morale is shattered, may be the factor that causes the Warriors to either recover their center or lose more direction.
