Klay Thompson went nuclear for a season-high 33 points in 30 minutes. Led by Kevon Looney and Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors out-rebounded the Lakers. A team effort reduced LeBron James and Anthony Davis to a combined 42 points on 40 shots.
And the Warriors won, 117-115, holding off the Lakers on the last possession. The performance still left GSW head coach Steve Kerr unsatisfied.
“I thought we played very poorly, actually,” Kerr told reporters postgame. “But we found a way to win. The last couple weeks, I don’t think we’ve been that great. But we’ve found a way to win. It’s not going to be enough if we keep playing like this.”
The specific items that irked Kerr on Saturday: lazy off-ball defense, a lack of blocking out, and not enough focus on getting back on D.
“Offensively, we did a few good things,” Kerr said. “We took care of the ball. Klay got hot in the fourth. But I thought we played a very poor defensive game. Let back-cutters get to the rim. Didn’t box out. Transition defense was really bad.”
If Thompson hadn’t bailed Golden State out with 16 points in the fourth quarter, Saturday would’ve marked Golden State’s first three-game losing streak of the season. That’s clearly not lost on Kerr.
The off-ball defense — a major component of the general defensive issues — was the most glaring issue against LA. Early on, James picked apart GSW from the mid-post by finding cutters along the baseline. Avery Bradley found himself wide open in the first quarter, but flubbed a layup. Still, the play should’ve sounded the alarms for Golden State.
Yet throughout the game, not much changed. Russell Westbrook got loose along the baseline in the fourth quarter for a bucket that put LA up 107-103. It was one of many Lakers buckets that would’ve been prevented if Warrior defenders stayed disciplined by seeing their man and the ball.
The Lakers also scored 17 points in transition despite only nine Warrior turnovers. By the third quarter, Los Angeles posted 94 points. They finished with 115 — tied for the ninth-highest total allowed by GSW all year.
The only questionable complaint Kerr had was on boxing out. Teams can always be more physical on the glass, but Saturday was the best rebounding game the Warriors had in weeks. They’d been out-rebounded 153 to 113 over the three games prior to the Lakers tilt, including an offensive rebounding disparity of 35. GSW shook those tough nights off and won the rebounding battle against LA.
But Kerr’s defensive concerns remain. Three of the team’s top-10 worst defensive performances, based solely on opponents points, have come in February. GSW’s defense hasn’t taken a dramatic step back during Draymond Green’s absence overall, but there have been lapses (including Saturday).
Before Saturday, the Warriors allowed 108 points per game in their previous 12 contests — five points more than their season average. But Golden State won nine straight in that same stretch, riding hot outside shooting and an increased role for Kuminga.
Kerr’s not sure if this level of play is sustainable if the Warriors want to achieve what they’re setting out to. Perhaps he’s just a harsh critic.
“I think we’re playing well,” Thompson said postgame. “I think we can always get better. It would be really nice to win the next two before All-Star Break.”
