OAKLAND – After a full day to sweep away their sleepiest performance of the season, the Warriors returned to work Sunday and followed their usual routine in the wake of a stunning setback.
They went through extensive video review, and they practiced a bit longer and with more fervor than usual.
“With the day off yesterday, we got up and down,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We won’t scrimmage the rest of the week in our practice sessions, so (we did) a little extra work today.”
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Though the Warriors were comprehensively deficient in a 117-97 loss to the Lakers, the most startling element was on defense. They failed to consistently switch or communicate, which are the pillars of their defense. They repeatedly blew assignments.
“We made some mistakes with our coverages that we’ll get better with,” Kerr said.
Asked if he could remember a previous game when the Warriors were so sloppy and unfocused on defense, forward Draymond Green struggled to identify one.
“I’m sure there’s one somewhere,” he said. “But it’s not something that you think of right off the top of your head.
Golden State Warriors
“But that was definitely one of those where it was like every time we made a run, it was breakdown, breakdown, breakdown. You can’t really have that and win at a high level.”
The Lakers shot 64 percent in the pivotal second quarter, when they hiked a nine-point lead to as much as 19. The Lakers attacked the paint with regularity, putting up 46 shots and making 32 (69.6 percent). LA made eight 3-pointers, the Warriors five.
Such numbers pave a path to disaster, and they’re not something the Warriors care to see over the 76 games remaining in the regular season.
“We can learn a lot from that game the other night,” Kerr said. “Hopefully, we get off to a good start this coming week. We’ve got four games, three of them at home, so let’s set the table for the week.”
Green, though visibly perturbed during and after the game, was a bit more circumspect two days removed.
“You’ll always have moments where you feel like you’re taking a step back,” he said. “That’s a part of the 82-game season. It’ll happen again. And it’ll happen again after that.
“You can take something away from any game. At this point, it’s the sixth game of the year. If you’re not taking nothing away from the game, you got a problem.”