Warriors still not tanking despite appearances after sloppy win over Nets

SAN FRANCISCO – Though it’s officially too late for the Warriors to tank their season, you would not have known by their unsightly performance Wednesday night.While on the cusp clinching a berth in the NBA’s Western Conference play-in tournament with a 109-106 victory over the overtly tanking Brooklyn Nets at Chase Center, the Warriors once again borrowed a lot of pages from the Book on Tanking.But, no, they are not tanking. Can’t. And Draymond Green, while conceding there are frustrating moments, insists that’s not his mentality to bail and wouldn’t be no matter where the Warriors are in the standings.“You just can’t be the guy that quit when it gets tough,” Green said. “I’ve had some incredible years here, been a part of some incredible teams. Banners. All that stuff. And it’s great. And when that stuff is happening, you want to be at the forefront of it. You want to embrace it, enjoy it, all those things. It’s great.“When it goes a little left, you can’t jump off the train, you can’t walk around and pout, you can’t throw in the towel.”It doesn’t look like the Warriors are jumping off trains or throwing towels. But they’re playing poorly enough to struggle against teams with little interest in climbing the standings.The Warriors are not making a habit of tossing up air balls by the dozens, nor are they stapling key players to the bench in the fourth quarter. That’s for other teams, like Brooklyn. No, Golden State’s emphasis seems to be on one chapter: How to Help Your Opponent.After committing an astonishing 71 turnovers over the final three games of a six-game road trip, the Warriors returned to Chase Center and extended the trend, committing 26 turnovers against the 26th-rated defense in the league.“We can’t get sped up,” Green said. “We started the game off getting sped up, not having proper spacing and getting to our spots. It kind of starts this domino effect. So, then you have first few turnovers and then it’s mental, right? So, then you second-guess the pass. Then you throw the pass. Now it’s too late.“Guys just got to get out of their own heads. Play. Play the game. If the game tells you to pass, pass the ball. If the game tells you to shoot, shoot ball. But I think it’s quite a bit mental.”The 15 turnovers the Warriors committed in the first half are the most in any their previous 72 first halves this season. That the Nets managed a mere 10 points off the giveaways could, perhaps, be attributed to them being among the eight or so teams counting the minutes until the May 10 NBA draft lottery.“It looked like a team that was playing our seventh game in 11 days in seven cities,” coach Steve Kerr said of the sloppiness. “These games always terrify me when you travel, a long road trip, a bunch of 3 a.m. arrivals in cities, and you come home, and your time clock isn’t right in your body. It just felt like we were running in mud most of the game. I kind of expected some of that.“But I was proud of the guys. It really came through in the fourth and found that found their footing.”The Warriors (35-38) prevailed in a “clutch game” over a team with a 17-56 record as it merrily meanders its way toward a chance to draft AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cam Boozer.Which is not to say Golden State didn’t deserve the win. Gui Santos piled up a career-high 31 points. Brandin Podziemski scored 22 points and finished a team-best plus-19 over 35 minutes. Gary Payton II committed no turnovers while shooting 5 of 5 from the field, pushing his streak of consecutive field goals to 16 without a miss. Yet Golden State’s win required a fourth-quarter comeback, during which they shot 62.5 percent from the field and outscored the Nets 32-20. The Warriors feasted while three Brooklyn starters – Nic Claxton (the team’s highest-paid active player), Terance Mann and Ziaire Williams – watched the final quarter from the bench.The Warriors will take it because it’s a win. Because they’re playing in front of Stephen Curry, and he’s watching from the bench. He can’t love what he is seeing.The general belief is that Curry’s return, whether it’s Friday or later, will improve the product. It will. Curry is not wired to accept tanking. More to the point, he would hate to be associated with anything that looks like it.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Warriors still not tanking despite appearances after sloppy win over Nets

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