Thursday, March 28

Who to blame for the Golden State’s epic collapse


SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors were in full control. They were cruising to victory against a quality opponent. With less than 10 minutes to play, they had a 19-point lead over the Dallas Mavericks, and — per ESPN — a 99.3 percent chance of winning.

And in a flash, it all disappeared.

Golden State lost by six — 107-101.

In a season where there have been more than a handful of gut-wrenching losses, Sunday’s loss to Dallas was, unquestionably, the worst.

The only debate is where the blame should lie for the incredible collapse.

While I don’t love Steve Kerr’s current rotations, I didn’t see that as the Warriors’ top problem on Sunday. Sorry to the vocal contingent of fans who would like to replace one of the greatest coaches in NBA history with an NBA 2K gamer.

And while Steph Curry wasn’t good in the fourth quarter, I don’t think you can put this loss on his shoulders, either.

No, the difference in the game — the reason behind the collapse — was the Warriors’ secondary offensive options against the Mavericks. Or, rather, the lack thereof.

And if we need to isolate a name, pin this one on Andrew Wiggins.

Now, this lack of secondary scoring was an issue we saw often with the Dubs before Klay Thompson returned to the Warriors’ lineup in January.

Only those times, the Warriors had Draymond Green anchoring their defense and controlling the offensive pace.

Sunday, they had neither. Thompson was out with an illness and Green is still rehabbing his back injury.

And so when the Warriors started to lose confidence on the offensive end Sunday and became a sieve in the fourth, things “snowballed” per Curry.

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In all, the Warriors went eight-plus minutes in the fourth quarter without making a field goal. Their 19-point lead disintegrated behind a Dallas 16-0 spurt to start the quarter that turned into a 23-1 burst, and, eventually, a 30-5 run.

Before Thompson’s return, the Warriors looked to a variety of options to be the Robin to Curry’s Batman. Anyone would do, of course. And quite often, someone would step up and provide.

Some nights it was Jordan Poole.

That wasn’t the case Sunday. Poole didn’t make a field goal in the game and was benched by Kerr in the fourth quarter.

Some nights it was Otto Porter.

Sunday, the veteran only attempted four shots.

More often than not, it was Wiggins stepping up. That’s what made him an All-Star this season.

But Sunday wasn’t his day.

Now, Wiggins started the game strong, going 4 of 5 from the floor and scoring 11 points in the first quarter. He was a huge part of the Warriors jumping out to a 13-point lead after the first frame, setting the foundation for the game. Or so the Warriors thought.

But from that point on, Wiggins went 3 of 11 from the floor, scoring seven points.

Worse yet, Wiggins wasn’t attacking the basket, instead, he settled for a series of ill-fated step-back jumpers, even when the Mavericks were running Davis Bertans at center. At 6-foot-10 and comically immobile, Bertans is only slightly heavier than Wiggins. There was no excuse for the wing to be hanging out on the perimeter.

Poole is 22. Porter is on a veteran minimum contract. You can’t pin losses on guys like that.

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No, the Warriors simply needed more from the All-Star down the stretch Sunday.

He didn’t come close to providing.

Why wasn’t Wiggins attacking the basket until it was too late? Why was he playing so passively on the offensive end?

And what was the deal with him constantly leaving the strong-side wing open to collapse the paint?

We don’t know, because Wiggins was not made available to the media and the Warriors’ locker room remains closed.

All we can do is guess.

And my guess is that the Warriors’ wing was in his head about his poor free-throw shooting and decided it was easier to stay outside than take the risk of going to the line.

Wiggins missed two free throws on a three-shot trip to the line early in the game. He only attempted two more free throws from that point forwards and made one.

Such is the incredible paradox of basketball. When you’re not making 15-foot shots, an 18-foot jumper looks a lot better than a layup.

It’s a truly beautiful and bewitching sport. It’s a shame it sometimes takes an ugly loss to highlight it.


www.mercurynews.com

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