OAKLAND – Even as the Warriors talked about building better habits while moving toward the postseason phase of their schedule, they occasionally gave the fan base two valid reasons to worry about what lies ahead.
One, turnovers, particularly those of the live-ball variety and always those that simply are silly.
And, two, defensive consistency, some of which can be blamed on easy transition baskets off their turnovers.
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What the fan base and maybe the Warriors coaching staff wanted Sunday, in the 47th and final regular season at Oracle Arena, was a victory that came with a sedative for their anxieties.
They got both, along with the security that comes with earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
In their 131-104 walloping of the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, the Warriors provided, with 16 searing minutes, enough masterful basketball to calm the minds of those worried about them being able to put away, say, the Houston Rockets.
Or, for that matter, any other team in the NBA.
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“We focused in a little bit more on the details,” Kevin Durant said.
“We got really active,” Draymond Green said. “We were flying around. Guys were getting to the paint. We had guys stabbing at the ball. For the most part our interior defense was great in the first half. We needed to lock in a little more on 3-point shooting. We kind of funneled everything to the rim, and they weren’t able to score in the paint the entire game.”
Durant, Green and others have been raising the “Don’t Worry” flag for a couple weeks, acknowledging that there have been occasions when they played down to the level of their opponents or took risks they would avoid against a legitimate contender.
Though the Clippers are not a legit contender for the championship, they are a likely first-round opponent for the Warriors, who, in time, played it that way.
Over the final four minutes of the second quarter and the entire 12 minutes of the third, the Warriors outscored LA 55-24. It was 42-18 in the third quarter.
The Warriors accomplished this by stitching up the two areas where they tend to be most vulnerable.
The Warriors tightened the defense during those 16 minutes, holding the Clippers to 8-of-26 shooting (30.8) percent while forcing nine LA turnovers, leading to 12 Warriors points.
And they also minimized their own turnovers, committing only two – none in the third quarter – neither of which led to LA scores.
This was the Warriors’ response to their ordinary first 20 minutes, during which the Clippers, mostly behind 17 points (mostly on 5-of-6 3-point shooting) by rookie guard Landry Shamet, were able to forge a 49-49 tie.
“The last three minutes of the first half changed the game,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “Then, in the third quarter, we couldn’t make shots.”
The Warriors made a strategic change in the third, putting Durant, at 6-foot-11, on Shamet who stands 6-5. Shamet disappeared, scoring one point over the final 28 minutes.
“We broke free in that third; that was great,” coach Steve Kerr said. “The biggest thing was that we didn’t turn the ball over, I don’t think, a single time. Everybody was moving the ball and the defense was tremendous. Kevin was chasing Shamet around; he had hurt us in the first half. And (Durant) did a good job. Our defense was really good overall after the first half.”
This was championship-level stuff. The offense is getting wiser and more purposeful. The defense is closing gaps, choking off rallies and generating turnovers. The Warriors are doing what they must to give themselves the best chance at a “threepeat.”
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The players never seemed too bothered and now the coaches are feeling more confident. So, too, should the fan base.
When the playoffs come to Oracle Arena next weekend, they can all take comfort in knowing that the biggest threat to the Warriors is the Warriors, and they don’t seem of a mind to allow that.