Every game has its problem for the Warriors…

“That’s our main concern at the moment. After seventeen games it’s pretty clear what we need to do. If we take care of the ball, we win. If we don’t, we lose.”

Before the game against the Blazers, Steve Kerr set a priority for his team: to lose fewer balls than the opponent, because it was a very clear indicator of success of your team from the reboot. The message was heard as Golden State had just 13 turnovers against Portland, compared to 20 for Tiago Splitter’s men.

The problem is, it wasn’t enough for the Warriors, who largely lost the rebounding battle this time around, giving up 21 offensive rebounds. Donovan Clingan and society, for 28 points for a “second chance”…

“Sometimes we are small on the field, but we have to play bigger than we are”requests Stephen Currywhose 38 points were not enough. “There were a lot of problems and missed screens because most of the time they had five players out, but often with a 2m13 guy.”

Forced to cover a lot of ground defensively and therefore compensate, the Warriors were unable to control everything. And every time they close a breach, another one seems to open up…

“From my point of view, we’re just not defending anybody”

“It’s an athletic team”explains Steve Kerr, while Portland has already beaten Golden State twice this season. “Some of their players are extremely athletic. They go for the rebound. They put a lot of pressure on us. That’s what made the difference in this game.”

As Stephen Curry admits, these offensive rebounds are especially demoralizing.

“It’s crazy that we were in a one-possession game with a minute and a half to go with such a deficit (on a rebound). We play as much as we can, we rush everywhere, but the most demoralizing thing for a defense is 20 seconds of good defense, then an easy rebound and a second, third chance.”

However, this is not Golden State’s only problem. For Steve Kerr, the defense is quite coherent and the lack of rhythm in attack is weighing on his team. For Jimmy Butlerthe opposite is…

“From my point of view, we’re just not defending anybody”the winger stated. “I haven’t been here long, but that’s never been the formula here. You can’t take everything away on offense. But there, we don’t close the picture. We don’t take away layups, no free throws, no lobs, no threes. So you never know where they’re going to shoot, but tonight they wanted to get all the shots.