The Warriors couldn’t have expected much better Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Steph Curry sat out with a sprained left ankle, but the Warriors managed to play their way into a two-point game in the final seconds.
Andre Iguodala’s floating runner glanced off the rim as time expired, and the Warriors San Antonio losing streak reached 30 games.
It was the first tight game the Warriors played all season. Through their first five contests, the Warriors had either won or lost by 10+ in every game.
Last season, the Warriors finished 7-20 on shots to tie or take the lead in the final 24 seconds of the 4th quarter or overtime. Last year’s leader in both makes and attempts, Jarrett Jack, is now playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, so the Warriors needed to find a new late-game solution.
In the end, the Mark Jackson went with Iguodala from the top of the key with just over seven seconds to play. He got a decent look after getting by Marco Belinelli, but the Spurs clogged the lane and prevented him from getting all the way to the rim.
Just seconds before Iguodala’s miss, the Warriors gave Klay Thompson the opportunity to make a play from the left side. He drove the lane, but passed to Andrew Bogut in a crowded key before the Aussie big man tried to force the ball back to Thompson.
It was clear that being without Steph Curry limited the Warriors options in their final possessions, but his absence likely had more impact in transition earlier in the game. The Dubs were held to just four fast break points on the night, after coming in averaging 22 per game.
Even though the they struggled to push the tempo, Toney Douglas played his best game of the season with Curry out. Dogulas went 5-9 from distance en route to 21 points, but wasn’t on the court with the game on the line.
The Warriors struggles against San Antonio in just their sixth game aren’t likely to be season-defining, but they will need to figure out who their most reliable late-game scorer is. The good news is, they have a number of options.
While Curry is just 1-10 shooting in deciding final possessions, the Warriors will still look to him to be a play-maker this season.
Iguodala has the most experience taking control late in the game, having gone 16-64 in those situations. His time as the Philadelphia 76ers top option forced him to hoist a lot of clutch shots.
The Warrior that has had the most success, though, is David Lee. He’s gone 7-9 career, even though he didn’t have a single attempt last season.
Maybe, for the Warriors, it’s just about finding a balance, as the Spurs have for so many years.
San Antonio has been able to rely on any number of players late in the game, using ball movement and intricate play designs to open up shots when there’s typically little to no space.
Jackson could eventually end up following that strategy, but has shown in his three seasons as coach that he prefers a one-man isolation. It was Monta Ellis two seasons ago, and Jack last year who typically handled final possession duties.
Will Curry or Iguodala step into that role this year? Or will the Warriors start to share the ball when the clock ticks down to the final seconds in a close game?
It’s an interesting question, and perhaps the only one the Warriors don’t have any answer for yet.
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