© David Richard – USA Today | 2018 Jan 15
It didn’t take a microscope to see how uncharacteristically slow the Warriors were in their 129-99 blowout defeat to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. After watching Golden State show little to no interest in beating the Jazz, as many expected they would, head coach Steve Kerr didn’t hold back when asked to comment on his team’s utter lack of effort.
Steve Kerr called the Warriors performance tonight "pathetic" — here he is on the 30-or loss in Utah pic.twitter.com/pWdzNmLwlQ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 31, 2018
“I think our guys will tell you that was a pathetic effort out there,” Kerr said. “That was disgusting basketball.”
Coming into Tuesday night’s game, the Warriors had only allowed their opponents to score 120-plus points seven times this season, and they were 5-2 in those games. They were also 3-3 in games where they scored less than 100 points.
After Tuesday night’s game, Golden State gave up a season-high 129 points while mustering only 99 of their own for the largest losing margin they’ve suffered this season.
“We just didn’t start out the game with any force defensively. We weren’t staying into bodies, they were just stopping behind screens, we were lazy on our switches. We played with no sense of urgency, no sense of purpose, and they’re obviously fighting for the playoffs.”
On top of 19 turnovers, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant struggled from behind the three-point line. Between the two, Curry was the only one to drain a three-pointer in 11 combined attempts. Only Klay Thompson and JaVale McGee delivered for the Warriors; the former scoring 27 points and shooting 12-17 from the three-point line, and the latter scoring 14 points in 16:08 minutes off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Jazz showed up ready to play against the Warriors; specifically Ricky Rubio, who paced Utah with 23 points, Jose Ingles and Donovan Mitchell, who both scored 20 points and were excellent from the three-point line. Ingles made seven three-pointers in 11 attempts and Mitchell was 8-17 from outside the arc.
“I saw one team get their ass kicked,” Kerr went on to say. “That’s what I saw.”
After the game Curry acknowledged that the Warriors’ effort on the court in Utah was as Kerr described.
Steph Curry on the blowout loss in Utah pic.twitter.com/vvm4aYbEbA
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 31, 2018
“I asked Draymond on the bench in the fourth quarter if he could remember that bad of a performance that we’ve had in recent memory, and we really can’t,” said Stephen Curry. “You can’t just show up, especially on the road, and expect to win. That’s kind of cheating the game.”