los angeles – like Golden State Warriors As coach Steve Kerr toured the locker room after Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals, his team wore expressions of fatigue and disappointment.
It was done — the Warriors’ quest to defend their title had ended with a 122-101 loss As far as Los Angeles Lakers Friday night, and they sat down with all the questions that came next.
Kerr told reporters after the game, “To be fair I think this team is finally maxed out.” “We were barely in the playoff picture for most of this year … This is not a championship team.”
This sentiment didn’t just materialize as the Warriors were eliminated, breaking their streaks of 28 straight playoff series with at least one road win and 19 straight series wins against Western Conference teams â both NBA records.
The Warriors’ 11-30 road record during the regular season is one reason this team lacked championship DNA. hit again and again Stephen Curry And Andrew Wiggins, The disconnect the Warriors started the year with, and never fully recovered from.
“From training camp until now, it was just the reality we were living in,” Curry said. “We were trying to keep things positive and optimistic around what we were trying to achieve this year … but there is also a sense that it is not enough.”
But Golden State still kept to itself the belief that the time had come for the playoffs – the second NBA season.
“We’ve done a great job of finding something here over the last month,” Kerr said. “We came close to recapturing what we had, but we just weren’t there. We didn’t feel like a championship team all year, but we had the guts and grit to believe.”
“No competitor believes [you’re done] until you prove that you are not a championship team,” Curry said. “And losing in a playoff series is what it is.”
The Warriors’ locker room in Game 6 was in stark contrast to the mood that followed. Music was playing from a set of portable speakers. The players were dancing all around. He was full of life. Yet they came out of the game without that energy.
The Lakers’ lead grew to 17 points in the first, matching the largest deficit the Warriors had suffered in the first quarter of a playoff game under Kerr. They trailed by 17 in Game 6 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals Houston Rockets, But in that game, they came back to win by 29.
Midway through Friday’s first quarter, something finally clicked for Golden State, and the Warriors went on a 23-10 run. But it was not sustainable. During that stretch, they got close to the Lakers but never took the lead. And by the time he had the opportunity to make another push, he had run out of steam.
Curry scored 32 points on 11 of 28 shooting, doing everything in his power to extend the series to seven games, but he didn’t get nearly enough help. Donte DiVincenzo He was the only support system and, with 16 points, was the only double-digit scorer. were the next highest scorers kevon looney And Draymond Green with nine each.
klay thompson Whereas Jordan Poole there were seven more Andrew Wiggins — who was suffering from a left costal cartilage fracture — six pairs. Wiggins couldn’t even defend Lebron James with the force necessary to slow him down.
The Warriors had nothing more to offer.
Although the series was ultimately lost for the Warriors in Game 6, Kerr said it was decided in Games 1 and 4 â two tight games that the Warriors could have but not let go.
“No competitor believes [you’re done] until you prove you are not a championship team. And that’s what it’s like to lose in a playoff series.”
Stephen Curry
“I definitely think this team maxed out,” said Green, agreeing with his coach. “It was not a championship team … It was not a championship group as it stands.”
Green said the Warriors will have to go back to the drawing board this summer and “refigure” their way back to championship level.
But general manager Bob Myers, the man responsible for building Golden State’s championship roster over the past decade, has yet to come to a new contract agreement.
And like Myers, Green’s status with the team is unclear. He has a player option waiting for him and Endescape’s Mark J. Spears that he would take his time deciding his future. But he insists that he wants to remain a warrior.
“It doesn’t mean that our core changes,” Green said. “That doesn’t mean our corps can’t do it again. … We’re made of champions.”
