SAN FRANCISCO — After a day of regrouping, the Warriors met Thursday to review video of their season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns, immediately followed by a light practice session.
Among the reasons behind the loss was miserable shooting, Stephen Curry and Jonathan Kuminga being in foul trouble, Andrew Wiggins being mostly invisible and poor defensive fundamentals.
“Anytime you miss a shot, you can pick 100 things,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We should have lowered this screen, we should have cut it out here. But when you’re filming, you don’t even notice those things.
“So, it’s important to really look at what’s going on, which we did. I took a good look at the film. We showed a lot of clips to the players today. There were definitely possessions where we needed better spacing. But there were also a lot of good clips where We missed the shot.
The Warriors missed 13 shots at the rim and five more from within 10 feet in the first half. If most of that can’t be fixed, they may also start preparing for the offseason that begins in April.
“Obviously we missed a lot of layups — me first,” said Dario Saric, whose 3-of-11 shots included four misses from layup range and two more from within seven feet. “I have to be better at it.”
While the Warriors were shooting the ball 35.6% from the field, including 23.3% beyond the arc, they also committed sloppy fouls, especially in the fourth quarter when they had a big lead, and neglected the basics of rebounding.
“The two biggest areas in the game were fouling our pitchers in the first half, which allowed them to play from the front,” Kerr said. “And then the offense rebounded. They got a lot of second chances, which ultimately won them the game.”
The Phoenix finished with a 28-16 lead in the fourth quarter, allowing them to erase an eight-point deficit and win by four, built largely on a 16-9 rebounding advantage — including six offensive rebounds that produced 10 points.
Simply put, rebounding was often a challenge last season and will be again this season. Once again, the Warriors are a relatively young team in the NBA with an inconsistent mindset when it comes to rebounding. On nights when their determination is lacking, they are bound to take a beating.
However, there was an encouraging sign, which Saric was quick to point out. When the Warriors commit to moving the ball — which they did at times in the opener, as demonstrated by recording just 19 assists — they can make up for their size disadvantage.
“I think we are a great team because we have players who can play with the ball but are really good without the ball,” Saric said. “The most important thing sometimes is just moving the ball from one side to the other. Especially when you’re playing a (bigger) team. If you’re moving side to side, it’s going to be harder for them to guard.”
As simple as it may seem, warriors often failed to follow this script, written in bold in the Kerr system. It came and went last season, and the belief is that it will be implemented more consistently this season.
Not so much in the opener.
The old axiom, “Film doesn’t lie,” persists even though the use of film has become obsolete in the digital age. It’s now video that always reveals the truth, and the Warriors have already discovered some facts.
It was clear that the Warriors were not the team he thought they would be. Newcomer Chris Paul, as well as Kerr, said before opening night that it would take some time. Consider this fair warning.
But if their four-point loss in Game 1 is any indication, and the possibility of Draymond Green returning in a few days, the team may not be that far away.
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