Warriors’ curious shooting decisions spoil big upset opportunity vs. Thunder

When the path to possible offensive prosperity came open before the eyes of the Warriors on Saturday, they took a U-turn toward poverty.The Warriors at 2 p.m. local time in Oklahoma City received a surprise gift that greatly improved their chances of upsetting the defending NBA champion Thunder. OKC big man Chet Holmgren suddenly appeared on the injury report with a bout of flu.With the No. 2 shot-blocker in the NBA sidelined, the rim would come into focus for the Warriors. There was, if not a runway, a lighted walkway to buckets against a solid perimeter defensive team.Golden State’s response through the first half and again in the fourth quarter, was to fire mostly from afar – and do it inefficiently in a 104-97 loss that wasted another stellar effort.“I was just so impressed with our guys’ fight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters at Paycom Center. “We were right there. Both teams were banged up, but to come in here and give ourselves a chance … that’s the common thread right now. It feels like we are giving ourselves a chance every night despite all the injuries.”This might be seen by Kerr and others as a “moral victory,” but no team with an ounce of collective self-esteem would embrace that, no matter how many stars are unavailable. No doubt the Warriors displayed admirable determination from start to finish, but they invited defeat with inexplicable shot selection.They took 44 shots in the first half, 26 of which were 3-pointers, and walked into the locker room trailing by 13, 67-54. They took 23 shots in the third quarter, only six from distance, and won the quarter by 10, 29-19. It was as if while in the locker room they talked strategy and wisdom. No Holmgren? Go at the rim. It’ll get you back into the game.Which it did. After trailing throughout, by as much as 14, Golden State pulled into a 77-77 tie on a 3-ball by Malevy Leons with 4:14 remaining in the third. Malevy Leons from deep&excl; #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/uHmxc3T13v — Golden State Warriors (&commat;warriors) March 8, 2026 Then came the decisive fourth quarter, when the Warriors, after finding the way to offensive success, made another U-turn. They opened with eight consecutive 3-point attempts, only one of which splashed.This wasn’t curious shot selection. This was ludicrous shot selection. They scored 14 points in the quarter, taking only eight of 21 shots inside the arc. With the game within their grasp, they shot 2 of 13 from deep and 4 of 8 inside the arc.Brandin Podziemski, often willing to penetrate, set an odd tone early, jacking up errant 3-balls on Golden State’s second and third possession. After his third missed 3-pointer 3:12 into game, the Thunder reeled off a 12-3 run, taking a 20-11 lead that forced the Warriors to play from behind.Podziemski, the primary ball-handler, finished with 17 points but shot only 6-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-10 from distance.It wasn’t just Podziemski who relied on unkind 3-balls. Gui Santos scored a team-high 22 points but missed seven of the nine 3-pointers he attempted. Al Horford missed all three of his attempts from deep. Same with Kristaps Porziis. Draymond Green was the one efficient shooter from deep, shooting 4-of-6 en route to 16 pointsPorziis, coming off the bench in his first appearance since Feb. 19, delivered a solid performance, contributing nine points, five rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes, finishing a team-best plus-6.“It’ll get more and more comfortable,” Green said of Porziis. “He’ll get his legs underneath him more and more, his shots will start going in and he just becomes more of a weapon for us. The game is a lot easier when he’s on the floor.”The effort was there from all Warriors. The intent was visible. They won the rebounding battle and committed fewer turnovers. They nullified the good by shooting poorly (40.9 percent from the field, including 31.1 percent beyond the arc) – and unwisely.Aside from a successful third quarter, they did the Thunder a favor by ignoring the road to the rim.Questionable shot selection is not the way for this considerably diminished roster – without Stephen Curry for the last five weeks, Jimmy Butler III for the last seven weeks – to have a decent chance of beating the odds.It hurt the Warriors on this night, and it will hurt them again if they can’t avoid such self-harm over the remaining 19 games.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Warriors’ curious shooting decisions spoil big upset opportunity vs. Thunder

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