Golden State had some dramatic and exciting comebacks at home recently, but those have masked some bigger issues.
‘The Warriors are 4-6 in their last 10, basically playing teams even, not hitting threes at the pace they used to but mostly not playing defense as well as they did at the start of the season (they are giving up almost 9 more points per 100 possessions the last 10 games compared to their first 10 this season).
Coach Mark Jackson thinks it’s about effort and said so following Sunday’s loss to a hard-working Suns team, as reported by CSNBayArea.com.“We are not playing 48 minutes with a sense of urgency,” Jackson said. “That’s the disappointing part. Right now, I would say it’s not a slow start. We’re not playing with a sense of urgency.
“We came in talking about being the hardest-working team because (Phoenix) plays extremely hard and they’re talented. And we did not do that. I’m disappointed and we’ve got to find answers, individually and collectively.
“I’m finding that the guys in suits and ties want it more than the guys in the uniforms.”
First, this team misses Andre Iguodala a lot. They miss the versatile game he brought — he could give them perimeter defense, threes, shot creation, whatever they needed. His return in the next couple weeks could change things.
Jackson also needs to look in the mirror here, however.
The guys in the suits are not sticking with the players that give them the effort they want — Draymond Green, Toney Douglas and Kent Bazemore played well off the bench Sunday, they played good defense. But rather than stick with what works Jackson sticks with his rotation, putting David Lee back in to watch Channing Frye shoot threes while not closing out. Well, the rotation except for Andrew Bogut, a good defensive big who was benched most of the second half of the fourth quarter.
Golden State is going to turn this around, they are a good team. But it’s all about the defensive end of the court — the players need to play more focused on that end, Jackson needs to trust the guys that are.