Steph Curry might play like a demigod at times, but even he can’t get the Warriors to the promised land by his lonesome. The supporting cast needs to pull its weight, too.
On Sunday afternoon, Klay Thompson was ruled out for the day’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks due to an illness. Without Thompson on the floor eating up shots and defending on the wing, it provided opportunities for Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Moses Moody to step up. Instead? The trio was largely listless in a disappointing 107-101 loss that featured the second straight fourth-quarter collapse at Chase Center.
The Warriors’ offense went dry in the final period – missing 11 straight shots at one point – as the Mavs used a 26-1 run (!) to turn a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit into a six-point win.
“They made a run and we kinda folded when adversity hit,” Warriors center Kevon Looney said.
Wiggins started at the All-Star Game in Cleveland but hasn’t looked like one of the league’s top 10 players lately. In 22 games since Klay Day on Jan. 9, Wiggins is averaging 15.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from 3-point land.
Maybe Wiggins is feeling the effects of playing without Green to facilitate the offense and get him open looks. Maybe Wiggins hasn’t been as assertive as he needs to be with Thompson’s high-usage rate. Whatever the reason, he hasn’t looked the same since Klay’s comeback.
Wiggins put together a quick stretch of seven points in the second quarter Sunday night but otherwise didn’t put much of an imprint on the game when Thompson was unavailable. He finished with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, which isn’t the ugliest stat line, but faded in the second half when the Warriors needed a jolt. Wiggins eventually fouled out for the first time all season.
Instead of getting open looks like he used to, Wiggins seems like he’s settling back into his old patterns of dribbling until the shot clock evaporates and hoisting up contested mid-range shots. He clanked off a couple while the Mavericks made their big run Sunday night. Wiggins also went 1-for-3 at the free-throw line, where he’s struggling and shooting just 47.6 percent over the last month.
“He’ll be fine,” Kerr said. “He’s always been a good free-throw shooter. He’s in a little bit of a rut. It happens.”
Poole’s night was peculiar in that he didn’t get to start or finish it. Without Klay, Kerr turned to Moody instead. Poole is used to playing off the bench but he didn’t find a rhythm all night, playing in just eight minutes before the half and finishing with a season-low four points and didn’t hit a field goal for the first time in 55 games this season. Poole was noticeably absent for the final 3:54 of the game as Kerr elected to play Damion Lee instead.
Not exactly what you’d expect from Poole on a night when Thompson was unavailable.
“He just wasn’t having a great night, so I decided to go a different direction,” Kerr said.
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Moody scored five points and grabbed five rebounds, as Kerr gave him the start because of his size on the perimeter and ability to keep the rotation – aka keep Poole as a sixth-man option off the bench. Moody made some nice hustle plays and finished with a plus-14, but was a relative non-factor as the Mavericks made their push in the fourth quarter.
Fellow rookie Jonathan Kuminga had a rough night with five fouls, four turnovers and nine points in 17 minutes.
“When we get these chances to develop our young guys, we take them,” Kerr said. “It’s funny when we win eight in a row, the stories are, ‘Look at the Warriors developing their young guys and winning.’ But you’re gonna lose some games, too. You just have to accept that there’s going to be ups and downs like there were tonight for a lot of our young guys. It’s all part of the process.”
Every Warriors bench player registered a negative plus/minus, along with Curry, who scored 27 points on 25 shots and dished out 10 assists.
Draymond Green’s return is still weeks away. Andre Iguodala is still fighting through lower back tightness. Until the vets come back, the Warriors are going to need others to step it up. Much like the loss to the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 16 before the All-Star break, the Warriors let a winnable game slip through their grasp Sunday night.
“There’s no secret sauce, no magic wand,” Curry said. “You have to go through it and man up and understand this is the most important part of our season.”
