Luka Doncic dazzles the Dallas crowd with practically a layup line type performance handing the Dubs their 13th loss of the season in humiliating fashion
"Flush it down the toilet. Literally, just move on. You don't take anything from a game like this," he said, following the game.
It's fair to say Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wasn't impressed by his team's humiliating 142-94 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Wednesday.
Kerr went on to say he would not be watching back any film of the bruising defeat to the Mavericks, and you really can't blame him.
Not only was Wednesday night the team's worst loss since 1973, it marked a new point in the team's dramatic fall from contenders let alone champions-- having been an NBA finalist in the last five seasons-- it is also the team's 13th loss on the year further cementing their position in the lottery.
Coming off of a thrilling win against the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday night, the Dubs seemed to have been coming close to turning a corner that may have led to a possible win streak, or even consistent competitive games. That would be nice, but logically you have to remember that injuries have plagued this team to key players Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and D'Angelo Russell, who all remain sidelined.
Those injuries not only take away the majority of the teams points but also take away veteran leadership that can contribute to consistency. That leadership turns one win into three and then five. Those types of leaders, particularly Curry and Green, can build on momentum, whether it be in-game or a string of games.
Without that leadership, consistent inconsistency is the calling card for the Dubs who have been living and dying by rookies and journeymen.
Wednesday night was the personified form of that consistent inconsistency. Turnovers missed assignments, good plays turning Shaqtin A Fool moments-- the Dubs were unable to catch any rhythm last night no matter which combination of players was on the floor.
Speaking of combinations, Kerr didn't have too many rotation options. Wednesday night marked a season-low of able bodies with only eight players being able to suit up. All of that undoubtedly contributed to the 48 point loss, but it is not to take away from the show Luka Doncic put on last night.
20-year-old Doncic, who might end up being the youngest MVP in NBA history after this year, provided a dominant performance in which he scored 35 points -- 33 of which came in the first half.
The Mavericks star recorded his seventh triple-double -- a double-digit score in three of five relevant statistical categories -- in 14 games and had 22 points, five assists and five rebounds in the first quarter alone, which was more points and rebounds than the entire Warrior team had at the end of the first.
Doncic went on to get ten rebounds and 11 assists, despite only playing 25 minutes in total.
"I see (the stats), but I don't know what to say," Doncic said after the game. "It's great to read about. I just enjoy the basketball."
Despite Warriors coach Steve Kerr's toilet remarks, he managed to make light of a pretty dire situation for the team.
"Tough to lose by 48 points, but a break here or there, and it only would have been 42 points," he said. "Nobody caught the sarcasm? I was trying to be funny," he added.
In the spirit of Kerr, we'll just flush this game down the toilet too and move onto Friday's matchup against the Jazz.
The Dubs saw Donovan Mitchell and crew last week, having what I like to call an exciting blowout, something that still feels odd saying. Even though there weren't many lead changes and Utah had control from start to finish, there was a feeling that the Warriors were always one run away from making things interesting. The run halfway came, and the lead was cut down to eight. Then an untimely foul or missed (airballed) layup would lead to a four, sometimes five, point switch, and the semi-run would turn back into a 17-point lead. That cycle continued the entire game.
Hopefully, this go-around will be different, and the Dubs will be able to get over that eight-point hump or even start the game ahead. To do so, they will have to lock in on defense. Offense will come, despite what we saw Wednesday night.
The Dubs will need to limit the Jazz's paint touches and speed up their offense. Utah is not a heavy transition team. They score the majority of their buckets in their half-court set after a few rotations from drive and kicks. It may not be the up and down, lob city, exciting basketball that lives on Sports Center, but their offense is efficient. The Warrior's backcourt--Robinson III, Bowman, Poole, and Burke-- are going to have to focus on proper rotations and closeouts, or it'll be a long night.
The Warriors and Jazz tip-off at 6 pm PT Friday night on NBC Bay Area.