The Warriors can't defend their title if they can't protect the ball at the end of games.
Minnesota stole a victory against Golden State Sunday when Kyle Anderson stole the ball from Draymond Green in the final seconds and hit Karl-Anthony Towns for a go-ahead three.
KYLE ANDERSON CLUTCH STEAL AND ASSIST pic.twitter.com/hkJkpC6ATe
— Fastbreak Breakfast (@fastbreakbreak) March 27, 2023
It was Anderson's fourth steal in the final 12:30 of the game, but repeated a frustrating pattern of last-second turnovers in close games for the Warriors this season.
The Warriors lead the entire NBA in turnovers in the final minute of the game (14), when the game is within one possession.
— WarriorsMuse (@WarriorsMuse) March 27, 2023
Terrible late game execution has been the story of the season.
The Warriors had another chance on their next possession, but Jordan Poole went out of bounds with the ball.
Poole is a big culprit in the team's last-minute struggles. He's third in the league in total turnovers despite being 29th in usage rate. And some of his late-game miscues have been baffling.
Jordan Poole with another late game turnover. He now leads the NBA in turnovers this season with 135 pic.twitter.com/h4wLo3c7zp
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) January 5, 2023
The Warriors just lost a four-point lead in the final 7.8 seconds in Utah. Malik Beasley 3, timeout, inbound to Jordan Poole, steal and transition layup to seal it for Jazz. Toughest loss of the season for Warriors. pic.twitter.com/007OpP9BmD
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 8, 2022
The easy solution would be to put Poole on the bench during crunch time, but with Andrew Wiggins out indefinitely , the Warriors might not have a better option. Perhaps they need to simply their offense late, though Coach Steve Kerr usually resists going to the tried-and-true Steph Curry pick-and-roll.
Whatever it is, the Warriors need to start playing like the veteran team they are late, or they're going to fumble away their title defense.
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