SAN FRANCISCO – Sitting at the podium during his pregame news conference Friday afternoon, coach Steve Kerr explained that was “preaching” to the Warriors. His word, not mine.He was emphasizing the factors that will dictate the fate of Golden State’s season, the key phrase being “winning on the margins.” Basketball-speak for playing smart and hard, all the way to the buzzer.
The Warriors failed that test in the first half of their home opener, falling behind by as much as 13 points. They aced it in the third quarter and in the first eight-plus minutes of the fourth, building a 12-point lead.
They absolutely torched it over the final 3:34, slinking off the Chase Center floor with a 111-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
“There’s losses,” Stephen Curry said, “and there’s ways that you lose, like tonight, that kind of sting a little bit more.”
This performance was reminiscent of some of the “clutch games” Golden State lost early last season that kept it handcuffed to mediocrity. Earn a decent lead and then, with the smell of victory entering their...