SAN FRANCISCO – Even with Stephen Curry dropping 3s like he’s accustomed to, and Jonathan Kuminga continuing his scoring outbreak, the Warriors fell short to the Sacramento Kings 134-133 on Thursday at Chase Center and remain on the fringe in the Western Conference.
The issue, as it has been in so many games this season, was Golden State’s defense.
Led by former Warriors first-round draft pick Harrison Barnes, Sacramento shot 52.7 percent from the floor and nailed a whopping 22 3-pointers.
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It’s the 13th time during the 2023-24 NBA season that the Warriors have allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better. The 3-pointers also were the most allowed by Golden State since the Houston Rockets tallied 25 on Feb. 20, 2020.
The Kings put up 40 points in the first quarter, shot nearly 62 percent and tagged the Warriors for 75 points in the first half. That marked the fifth time this season that Golden State has been hit for 70 or more before halftime. And it came one night after they gave up 68 first-half points to the Atlanta Hawks.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr and forward Draymond Green have talked in the past about the need for players to buy in more on the defensive side of things. Yet not much has changed, and the defense will continue to be the team’s biggest hurdle unless the Warriors get things turned around.
“Our defense the last few weeks has really struggled,” Kerr said following the loss.
Golden State Warriors
The hope was that the defensive issues Golden State has been having would be alleviated somewhat by Green’s return from a second NBA suspension this season.
“When he’s out there he’s causing havoc,” Kerr said. “He’s a dominant defensive player and, obviously, we need that desperately.”
Most everyone on the Warriors' roster believes Green’s presence has been a definite boost, but the overall production of the defense just hasn’t been up to par.
Against Sacramento, Golden State didn’t come out with much defensive intensity and the Kings took full advantage, burying the Warriors in a hole they ultimately couldn’t get out of.
Stephen Curry said he was happy with the Warriors defensively over the final 36 minutes, but acknowledged that the defense has to get better in a hurry.
“Teams are, for whatever reason, they’re shooting great against us, and we have to figure out a way to slow them down,” Curry said.
It’s not just the Warriors who are having problems. Scoring around the NBA is higher than it has been, and teams are putting up wild numbers on a nightly basis.
Still, Golden State needs to do a much better job on that end of the court and make it more difficult for opponents than the team currently is.
“We played some teams that have five threats around the perimeter, and the way the league has changed in that respect, you have to be able to fly around, make multiple efforts, try to defend without fouling,” Curry said. “There is a concerted effort to get better at that end of the floor. We understand that that’s the only way we’re going to win. Besides the first quarter [against the Kings] I thought we played pretty well.”
Curry is correct.
The Kings connected on 15 of 24 shots (62.5 percent) in the first quarter, including 8 of 15 on 3-pointers, but were limited to less than 50-percent shooting the rest of the game.
In a one-point loss, however, that first quarter set the tone.
“Just giving up 40 gives a team confidence,” Curry said.
Despite the defensive breakdowns, the Warriors remain confident in their defense and haven’t lost any faith that things eventually will turn their way.
“I feel like as long as we keep our shell tight, we play connected,” Andrew Wiggins said. “Having Draymond back is amazing for us. He’s a big part of everything we do, especially defensively. He’s a mastermind.
"We just have to keep looking out for one another, have his back and I feel like we’ll get to where we want to go.”
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