Turnover crushes Warriors as they change pregame plan vs. Clippers give up, originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Coach Steve Kerr estimated the Warriors gave away 10 possessions Sunday night at Chase Center, falling 112-104 to the Los Angeles Clippers in their first loss of the 2024-25 NBA season after back-to-back wins.
“Yes, for sure,” Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski told NBC Sports Bay Area in his locker after the loss when told which number Kerr came up with.
The Warriors opened the season against the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, two teams projected to be at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, with an average of over 133 points. The headlines noted Buddy Hield’s blistering start shooting the ball, as well as the Warriors’ defensive swarms and their depth shining as brightly as their biggest stars.
Another reason why the Warriors reigned supreme over the Blazers and Jazz was the movement of the ball, as well as the care of it.
During their undefeated 6-0 preseason, the Warriors averaged 30 assists and 18 turnovers. To start the season in Portland and Utah, they averaged 36.5 assists and just 16.5 turnovers, a total of 40 more assists (73) than turnovers (33). Those numbers took an ugly turn in front of the Warriors’ home crowd on Sunday.
Steph Curry, before leaving early in the fourth quarter due to a left ankle injury, had six assists but also six turnovers. Hield’s hot shooting turned cold, and his off night was accompanied by four turnovers, which was more than the three shots he took all game. Kerr used 13 players, including Lindy Waters III’s 32-second run, and 10 had at least one turnover.
Kerr’s starting five accounted for 11 turnovers and 10 assists, which paints a picture for the team as a whole. The Warriors had just 19 assists on their 38 made shots, while all of them had 21 turnovers, for which the Clippers scored 21 points.
“Well No. 1, the Clippers were great defensively,” Kerr said. “But we went really loose with the ball and made some careless plays. They are a very athletic team, very well coached. They were in places where they bothered us.”
Kerr took the blame for the Warriors’ need to work better under duress. They picked up 28 steals in their first two games and came away with 10 more on Sunday night, but the Clippers outscored them there with 11. Veteran guard Kris Dunn led both teams with four steals, and four Clippers had multiple steals.
Clippers coach Ty Lue is considered one of the best defensive coaches in the NBA and is a switch-heavy scheme. The Warriors discussed in their pregame film session the need to cut their cornerman and wing spacing to the corner to damage the Clippers’ switches, and when to go five-out to double-cut because they like to switch points.
“We weren’t consistent with that,” Podziemski said. “Sometimes we did that and it was good, but it just wasn’t consistent enough with that.”
In their first two games of the season, the Clippers forced their opponents – the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets – to turn the ball over an average of 16 times. Last season, they ranked 23rd in the NBA with 12.4 turnovers per game. The Warriors were too often their own worst enemies on Sunday night, making careless turnovers.
They had four turnovers in the first quarter, doubled that to eight turnovers in the second quarter, seven in the third and finally only two turnovers in the fourth as their comeback could not be completed.
“A lot of the turnovers were easy twos, easy dunks for them on the other end,” Podziemski said. “It takes the pressure off James [Harden] to score all the time. You saw Derrick Jones hit some threes, Kris Dunn was starting to feel good. It just has to be healthier collectively.”
The Warriors have one day to recover from their first loss of the season. Curry will get an MRI Sunday night after using the word “mild” or “moderate” to describe his injury to Kerr. Whether he misses no time, a short period of time or an extended period, the Warriors know they have to clean up their turnovers, an issue that feels like an annual one.
Next up, the New Orleans Pelicans (2-1) come to Chase Center for a back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, averaging 12 steals per game, while also averaging more than 18 turnovers. Podziemski could find himself in the starting lineup as the Warriors’ lead ballhandler if Curry misses games, and the young guard isn’t worried about sloppy play offensively.
“It was a good first test of a really good defense,” Podziemski said. “When you encounter it for the first time, you just have to accept it and learn from it. New Orleans is also a great, long defense, and we just have to learn from it.
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