SAN FRANCISCO - Cold numbers from the Clippers' round 112-97 suggest the Warriors found their fangs Tuesday night and rediscovered the benefits of a brilliant defense. Except it's not that easy.
The Defense House of Golden State was playing with money. The Clippers are bottom-five in offensive ratings and bottom-10 in field-goal percentages. Without Kawhi Leonard and without Paul George throughout the season before Christmas, this LA offense is the answer to a poor defensive squad's prayers. It makes a bad defense look decent, a good defense looks good and a good defense looks good.
While the Warriors put up their best statistical defense of the season, especially during the first three quarters, the relative lack of bad habits was more welcome. The messy, often fatal fundamentals of the past month-plus rarely surfaced.
"Better defensively, our best defensive effort in a long time," said coach Steve Kerr. “The ball pressure was good, the rotation was good, people were challenging the shot. The night shoots at The Clippers weren't great; They clearly missed some open shots. But we also had something to do with it. ,
Before the fourth quarter, which began with apathy afforded by the Warriors leading a 25-point lead (86-61), the Clippers shot 29.4 percent from the ground. No misprint. For every three shots he made, seven were spoiled.
Golden State's defensive rating for this game: 95.1. Glowing.
Golden State's defensive rating in last 11 games: 118.1. During that period only the Pacer (118.3) and Rocket (119.6) were bad.
"We were close defensively," said Jordan Poole, who finished with 20 points, four assists and two steals.
Yet this quality was less a clinic by warriors than an exposition of the basics of defense. The lazy habits they lost out of 11 had replaced them with the wisdom and awareness that come with video reviews and Scouting-report studies. and focus. Things to be taught at the middle school level.
"He did a good job of removing the paint, so we couldn't get down," said Clippers coach Tyrone Lew. "And it set off our attacks."
These are not things the Warriors have been doing and certainly didn't when they faced the Clippers on February 14 in LA. The result was a 119–104 loss against the roster seen this night at Chase Center.
"There was a sense of urgency, to give myself a chance to get out of this hole and take the win, and remember what it felt like," said Stephen Curry, who scored 15 points, five assists and Ended with three steals - and became the career leader of the franchise in terms of steals with 1,363. “What was needed was our defensive energy and presence.
"Apart from the six-minute stretch in the fourth quarter (scoring 20 points in the first six minutes of the quarter) we were really solid. It was really a solid effort there. Everyone was trying several physically, and you see How it leads to easy offense when you can push the ball and not have to take it out of the basket on every play or give them easy free throws.”
These warriors displayed a considerable amount of preparation and sprinkled it with generous defensive energy. Both of these factors matter deeply because of the elements that are needed to survive an early postseason outer.
"That's how you frame it in terms of the Warriors basketball on both ends of the floor," Curry said. "We just have to make it in putting the game together."
Well, yes, because the competition gets tough. The Warriors travel to Denver on Thursday and return home to face the defending champion Bucks on Saturday.
All those open shots by the Clippers penalizing the rim probably go against a legitimate playoff team.
But if the Warriors are really close, the number of open shots will drop as the stakes get higher. They have to trust it. believe in it. If there is no equal commitment for the next two matches and the next 14 matches, the defense in this win will be forgotten in an instant.