The Golden State Warriors suffered one of the most “humiliating” losses in franchise history on Friday night in a 53-point loss against the Toronto Raptors, a team that entered the game after losing 13 of their last 14 games.
“You’ve seen it,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr after losing 130-77. ‘They destroyed us. There is not much to say. Humiliating to everyone involved. ‘
The Warriors, who lost a whopping 61 points in the second half, set some dubious records in a match in which both Stephen Curry (tailbone) and Draymond Green (left finger sprained) were eliminated.
The Raptors surpassed the Warriors by 51 points in the second and third quarters, the largest difference in two-quarters of a game in NBA history, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The Warriors became the fourth team in the past 25 seasons to have at least 60 points in a game, according to ESPN Stats and Information. The Raptors’ 53-point profit margin also equals the third highest in league history for a team with 10 or more games under .500.
“I think the game went south quickly and we were demoralized,” said Kerr. “I think we were without Steph and Draymond, I think we were a little out of control when things went wrong. We didn’t have the internal fight we needed to get over the bump.”
That was evident in several areas, but offensively, the statistic that may be most shocking to the Warriors is the fact that they have become the only team in the past 25 years to lose a match by at least 50 points and not score. a target. fast breaking point. They only had one counter-attempt in the entire match and missed it. It’s a big reason why Kerr was so frustrated with his team’s lack of ball movement.
“Our team is built to share the ball,” said Kerr. “When you move the ball in this game, the magic happens, when you build an energy, a karma, the shots often come in when you move and deal the ball. And tonight I saw possession after possession. was a pass … and a shot. We have to play for each other and I didn’t expect to do that tonight. “
The Warriors, now 23-26, are ranked 10th in the Western Conference and have struggled all season to find consistency. Last week, veteran Kevon Looney acknowledged that Curry and Green shared messages for their teammates about looking in and trying to play better. Following Friday’s embarrassing performance, veteran Kent Bazemore said injured former All-Star Klay Thompson shared some frustrating thoughts with several teammates after the game.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Bazemore said of the Warriors’ three central players. “We’re talking about – and Klay is there too, these guys have five consecutive Final appearances. This is absolutely unacceptable to them. This hurts them more than anything. Klay shot after and this has been the longest two years. “It’s hard to see his boys out there without him being able to help. So I think there’s a fire lit beneath him, and Steph and Draymond, they know how important they are to us.”
For Thompson, the loss was even more difficult to watch as he is currently in rehab from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss his second season in a row. Bazemore said Thompson’s message to some teammates was simple.
“He was just talking about how the game was lost and that losing this way is not acceptable,” said Bazemore. ‘He’s excited, man. Difficult to watch whether you’re playing or not. ‘
The good news for the Warriors is that Curry is expected to return against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. Green’s status remains unclear as he was initially expected to play Friday, but after trying to warm up, he told the coaching staff that he was unable to catch the ball with his left hand due to a finger injury. Green told Kerr he could play, but the veteran coach made the decision to leave Green.
While the Warriors wait for their stars to recover, they have a looming problem with the young center that they hoped would help them this season. 20-year-old big man James Wiseman had another tough night against the Raptors, fighting on both sides of the field, which has been a constant theme since the All-Star break. Kerr said the Warriors want to simplify parts of Wiseman’s game plan so he can regain his confidence.
“As a young player, a lot of guys try to do too much,” said Kerr. “I think that’s what’s going on with James right now. I think he’s a very talented man, and he has always been able to do what he wanted to do on the field, but in the NBA the game goes like this. fast that you just It all comes down to ‘let’s be good at the things that I can be good at every now and then, and then my game will expand as we go on’. And that’s what we’re trying to share with James and teach him.
“But the only way to learn that is to feel it and him through it. Then he will grow from here and we will stay positive with him, we will try to clear things up and keep things very simple and him. to help build his confidence during the last quarter of the season ”.
While the Warriors hope to see more development in the # 2 overall pick portion of the 2020 draft, they are doing so with a group that hit their season low on Friday night. Kerr hopes his team will recover after two defeats in a row, but he also understands that each individual player must find their own motivation to get things back on track before it’s too late.
“As a coach, you and your team try to navigate the season as well as possible,” said Kerr. “So there are times for humor, there are times for joy, there are times for serious discussion and self-examination. This is certainly a time for self-examination.”