It happened in Tuesday’s season-opener and it happened again on Saturday evening in Memphis.
For the second time in three games, Warriors’ star Steph Curry found himself in early foul trouble.
After Golden State’s 122-121 loss to the Houston Rockets earlier this week, head coach Steve Kerr admitted that when fouls plague Curry, the Warriors’ rotation is compromised. Kerr maintains that no player has ever impacted the game from an offensive standpoint the way Curry does, so when their point guard is off the floor, Golden State suffers.
Immensely.
On Saturday night, Curry’s foul trouble compounded the issues the Warriors knew they would have to overcome before their contest against the Grizzlies even tipped off. The result? A 111-101 loss to Memphis that dropped Golden State below .500 for the second time this week.
Before the final horn sounded, both Curry and Kevin Durant were ejected after arguing with an official following a Curry basket with 43.6 seconds left. After a Curry layup brought the Warriors within eight points, he immediately motioned toward an official and tossed his mouth guard, earning a quick hook for his conduct. Shortly after, Durant was also sent off the floor for coming to Curry’s defense and arguing as well.
Here's video of the Steph Curry mouthguard throw via @World_Wide_Wob pic.twitter.com/fEvxRlqtHT
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 22, 2017
A preseason trip to China took the wind out of Golden State’s sails, and caused Kerr to tell reporters after Friday evening’s win over New Orleans that the Warriors simply aren’t ready to play a complete four quarters of basketball yet. Kerr’s squad is out of shape, and on Saturday night, they faced the prospects of playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road after traveling in the late hours of the night following Friday’s victory.
So when Curry picked up a pair of first quarter fouls, and then a fourth foul with 3:54 remaining in the first half, it gave the Grizzlies every opportunity to hand the Warriors a third head-to-head loss in the last two seasons. Especially considering that Curry outside of the foul trouble that continues to plague him, the Warriors’ longest-tenured player was having his best game of the season.
By the time Curry picked up his fifth foul with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, he had a team-high 28 points and five three-pointers. It hardly mattered, though, because when Curry came off the floor, the Warriors were trailing by 13.
Nevertheless, Curry’s absence was felt immediately, as Golden State surrendered six straight points to balloon its deficit to 19 points.
Against a fearless, gritty Grizzlies’ squad with a deeper bench than it has boasted in years past, the Warriors never had an answer. Golden State was sluggish and Memphis was fired up. The Warriors were a step slow and the Grizzlies played a half beat faster. Every time Kerr needed the Warriors to cut into the deficit, Fizdale’s team managed to extend the lead.
The Warriors managed to keep the game close with a late first half burst, but in the third quarter, a 15-0 Grizzlies’ run featuring four Golden State turnovers and six missed shots gave Memphis all the distance it needed to create a lead that was too large to overcome. With Curry on the bench for most of the fourth quarter, there was only so much the Warriors could do anyway.
Of course, it didn’t help the Warriors’ cause that Draymond Green wasn’t his usual self on either end of the floor, or that Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson had combined for just 30 points midway through the fourth quarter. When Golden State has missed Curry in the past, it’s been able to rely on its other stars to outhustle, outwork and outplay its opponents.
But not against Memphis, and not on the back end of a back-to-back.