Wednesday NBA Roundup: Even in Victory, Warriors Have Questions They Must Answer

Grant HughesDec 28, 2016

Thanks to that immortalized blown 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals and the more recent Christmas collapse, we may never get away from judging the Golden State Warriors on the basis of how they perform against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But maybe that's not how it should be.

Because what we saw in the Dubs' 121-111 win over the Toronto Raptors at Oracle Arena suggests the hangups, matchup issues, mental hurdles and other Golden State trouble spots we ascribe to the Warriors-Cavs dynamic don't have all that much to do with Cleveland, specifically.

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They showed up against the Raptors too.

Sure, you can get into the idea of whether the Cavs have Golden State "shook," and there's that looming factor of LeBron James' being the best player alive. But when so much of what doomed the Warriors against those mighty Cavs recurs against other quality opponents—like the Raptors—you have to wonder: Is this just about the Warriors themselves?

Golden State played the extinction-level meteor to the Raptors in the first quarter, defending with energy, whipping the ball around (relatively carefully) and barely missing. The result after 12 minutes was a 42-17 advantage that featured only two turnovers and the added emphasis on pick-and-roll basketball head coach Steve Kerr promised:

What happened next was as forgivable as it was predictable.

Real GM's Danny Leroux—and apparently the Warriors—understandably assumed the contest was over:

But Toronto got back into the game as Golden State coughed up turnovers on six of its first 13 second-quarter possessions. The period featured nine giveaways in all, leading to 22 Raptors points. The 25-point advantage dwindled to just five with under three minutes left in the half.

Remarkably, the Warriors went into the break on a blitzing run that opened the advantage back up to 17 points and resulted in a 74.4 percent conversion rate for the half. They turned it over more often (11 times) than they missed from the field (10 times).

The Warriors ultimately held on, shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 60.9 percent from deep. But they needed to be that good because the turnover total hit 20 by the final buzzer and Toronto wouldn't lay down. Golden State faced phenomenal shot-making and real grit from a Raptors team that, to be equitable, was responsible for plenty of its struggles.

As has been the case all year, though, the Warriors' getting in their own way had more to do with the drama than anything else—a trend that is only slightly excusable because of the positive reinforcement their highlight-hunting habits often generate.

Kevin Durant was fantastic, finishing with 22 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks. But he was complicit in the Warriors' self-sabotage—with inexplicable decisions to pass up clean looks in favor of high-risk passes into traffic—following incredible full-court drives like this:

This damaging unselfishness, typified by the early-season emphasis on team assist totals, frequently crosses the line between egalitarian basketball and pure foolishness. As NBA gambler Haralabos Voulgaris quipped, sometimes, you've got to look out for No. 1:

"
Passing up your layup to try and get Zaza a layup isn't unselfish - its bad basketball
— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) December 29, 2016"

And as Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post noted, with talent like Golden State has, selfishness is a trait worth pursuing in many cases:

It makes sense, though. Every question we had about this team before the season was some version of "How can it share the ball between so many stars?"

The Warriors have responded by sharing too much at times, and it has hurt them.

Golden State, regardless of opponent, is almost always its own worst enemy. The irony is, it's because everyone's trying too hard to be friends with one another. Without taking anything away from the Cavs, Raptors or any other worthy opponent, there's only one team that can stop the Warriors.

The Warriors.

Bradley Beal Is Tougher Than Me

Bradley Beal is known as much for chronic leg injuries as his buttery perimeter stroke. So when his right ankle did this on a non-contact play in the Washington Wizards' 111-105 over the Indiana Pacers at the Verizon Center, it was cause for concern.

Beal proved he was composed of different stuff than me by not sobbing for six straight hours after that nasty ankle turn. Instead, there he was heading to the locker room and taking the floor before the first half was over. He didn't start the third quarter and was done for the night after that, but the 12 points he managed helped the Wizards continue their winning ways.

And anyway, John Wall was happy to take care of the second half. His night concluded with 36 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

The Wizards have been victors in eight of their last 11 games and are now just one win away from .500 after starting 2-8. Indiana, on the other hand, didn't fare so well in its first game since the league fined Paul George and Nate McMillan for criticizing officials.

"Maybe the league has teams they like so they can give them the benefit of the doubt," George told reporters Monday. "We're the little brother of the league."

Indy shot 29 foul shots against a physical Washington squad that earned 37 free-throw attempts of its own.

Dual lessons here, encapsulated by Beal's gutty game and the poor results of Indiana's complaining: Shut up and play.

Based off this tweet from Myles Turner, via the Indy Star's Nat Newell, so much for that: "It's unreal when the opposing player even says 'damn that's an awful call' on more than 1 occasion as they are shooting their free throws."

Jimmy Butler Is Tougher Than Everybody

That's a big shot under normal circumstances, but Jimmy Butler's game-winning jumper in the Chicago Bulls' 101-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center came after he, like Beal before him, suffered his own nasty ankle sprain.

Though Butler, after landing on a defender's foot, was in enough pain to prompt a Chicago timeout, he returned to the game almost immediately. Though, to reiterate, it hurt:

From there, he took charge, and head coach Fred Hoiberg liked it:

Butler scored 40 points to go with 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals on a night when Dwyane Wade (the team's second-leading scorer with 16) played just 22 minutes because of a migraine.

Butler is the Bulls, though it's a little alarming that he needed to be this good to beat a bottom feeder like Brooklyn.

The Details Matter

But so do the big things, and for a Charlotte Hornets team defined by excellence in unheralded stats—they have the league's lowest turnover ratio and isolation usage, plus a top-three defensive rebounding rate—separating from the East's jumbled middle class may depend on excelling in a few more conspicuous areas.

Like banking easy buckets in basic sets.

Yes, that. Do more of that.

Charlotte came into Wednesday's 120-101 win against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center with the NBA's No. 15 offensive rating (104.8 points per 100 possessions). Bumping up that figure up will require more consistent shooting from Marvin Williams and Nicolas Batum, both of whom are hitting from deep at rates lower than they did a year ago.

They combined to go 5-of-8 from distance, and if they can space the floor more reliably, Kemba Walker's court sense and Cody Zeller's expert screening could result in more easy looks like the one above. Walker finished with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and the pick-and-roll buckets never really stopped, according to John Schuhmann of NBA.com:

Handling the basics will help the Hornets look a lot more like the team that started 8-3 and seemed primed to join the conference elite.

You Can't Punch People

I mean, we already knew this right?

But, in light of Carmelo Anthony earning his 10th career ejection for doing some slap-fighting with Thabo Sefolosha, maybe it bears repeating.

The New York Knicks fell to the Hawks by a final of 102-98 at Philips Arena after making it to overtime. Anthony's presence might have helped, if only to keep Derrick Rose (9-of-28) from ignoring Kristaps Porzingis and shooting his team out of the game late.

Porzingis, who had a chance to send the game to double overtime with three free throws but missed the first, was the main reason New York stayed within striking distance down the stretch. And though Rose set him up plenty in the early going, the distribution slowed as the game got tight.

That has to change.

Alvin Gentry Must Stay Strong

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Consider this a plea to New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry, a man who wisely used Anthony Davis at center in a small lineup for the second straight game...but a man who didn't get to watch his plan work out in a 102-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Smoothie King Center.

Davis started cold, hitting just one of his first five shots from the field after running up a streak of at least 28 points and 14 rebounds in his previous four games. And DeAndre Jordan led the Los Angeles Clippers on a rebounding massacre: A 13-6 disparity on the glass prompting Gentry to swap in Terrence Jones for starting 4 Dante Cunningham, which made some sense, as Justin Verrier of ESPN.com noted:

It didn't stop Jordan from posting a first-quarter double-double, the first of his career. He finished with 13 points and 25 boards.

The final rebounding margin: 59-45 in favor of the Clips.

Gentry, unfortunately, got a pair of technicals and an ejection for arguing a foul call in the second quarter. If he'd stuck around, he would have seen the benefits of his lineup change: New Orleans weathered a tough start and sprinted out for 29 fast-break points, spaced the floor, got Buddy Hield loose for a three-point barrage and generally enjoyed the freedom of downsizing.

Gentry has to stick with Davis as his center. It makes too much sense as a tool to unlock spacing and add zip to an offense that needs it.

"
Davis is being guarded by Speights - 0 touches. Thats hilarious.
— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) December 29, 2016"

Will there be sacrifices? Of course. Wednesday proved that convincingly.

But New Orleans needs to do what it can to score in the short term and develop AD at what should be his long-term position. Oh, and maybe get him the ball once in a while...

Twenty points on 8-of-16 shooting isn't enough.

Let's Check In on the Spurs

SAN ANTONIO, TX - DECEMBER 28: The San Antonio Spurs huddle up during the game against the Phoenix Suns on December 28, 2016 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using t

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Yep, all good here.

Playing without Kawhi Leonard (illness), San Antonio's defense let the Phoenix Suns get a little frisky in a 64-point first half. Perhaps due to head coach Gregg Popovich's ire, San Antonio's vets cleaned up the mess.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker combined to score 63 points on 26-of-40 shooting.

The Spurs cruised to a 119-98 win at the AT&T Center without their best player.

Pop's probably still mad, though.