© Kyle Terada | 2019 Mar 5
OAKLAND — The Warriors were blown out by the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, falling 128-95 in a game that was hardly competitive. Here are three observations.
Warriors worst loss of the season
Considering the opponent and the venue, Tuesday’s loss to the Boston Celtics is likely to go down as Golden State’s worst of the 2018-19 season. The Warriors were never really competitive starting from the opening tip, when they fell into a 11-0 hole three minutes into the action.
Golden State’s defensive effort was particularly lackluster, with Boston shooting nearly exclusively open looks throughout the game. The Celtics took a 73-48 lead into the first half while shooting 63 percent from the field, leading to a chorus of boos from the Oracle Arena crowd. When all was said and done, the Celtics shot 51 percent (49-of-96) to the Warriors 40 percent (34-of-85), while going 41.2 percent (14-of-34) to 22.9 percent (8-of-35) from deep.
The Warriors shot themselves in the foot with 22 turnovers to Boston’s 11. Durant struggled with five of his own, and finished with plus-minus of -20 while going 5-of-16 from the floor.
DeMarcus Cousins had perhaps his worst game of the season thus far while playing 25 minutes. In addition to again getting targeted defensively, he finished 4-of-12 from the field, missed all five of his threes, and got a silly frustration technical foul in the fourth quarter after being called for a charge.
Klay’s absence felt
Part of the reason the Warriors fell into an early hole was the absence of Klay Thompson, which forced the struggling Alfonso McKinnie into the starting lineup. McKinnie’s lull continued on Tuesday. The youngster was cooked by whoever he was guarding all night, most often by Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. McKinnie lasted just three minutes before being pulled for Damion Lee in the first quarter. He would play just a total of 17 minutes.
Klay’s absence exposed Golden State’s lack of wing depth, something that was made even worse by the late scratching of Shaun Livingston (neck). Without both, Andre Iguodala was the only other reliable wing option on the roster against a Celtics team with at least five solid wing players. McKinnie, Lee, and rookie Jacob Evans combined for just 17 points in 60 combined minutes. The Warriors will hope Thompson’s injury is in fact day-to-day as is being reported, and doesn’t linger into the postseason. If it does, Tuesday was a reminder that they could be in trouble.
Another loss to an Eastern Conference contender at home
With Tuesday’s loss, the Warriors will finish the 2018-19 season with an 0-4 record against the top four Eastern Conference teams. Three of those were blowouts including Tuesday’s game, losing to the Raptors by 20, and the Bucks by 23. The Warriors were able to keep it relatively close vs. the Sixers, losing by just nine.
The defeat also comes at a time when the Houston Rockets seem to be peaking after adding Chris Paul back into the fold. Houston posted a double-digit win over the Toronto Raptors in Canada on Tuesday night, and are starting to look like the team that took the Warriors to the brink last season.
It’s hard to know what to make of these type of losses, especially with the Warriors track record of not exactly giving maximum effort during the regular season. What is for certain is that after beating Golden State at home, all four of the teams that the Warriors might face in the Finals have reason to be confident in their chances come June.