MEMPHIS, Tenn. _ The Warriors entered the 2017-18 season trying to maintain championship habits. Instead, they have become saddled with issues that usually stunt rebuilding teams.
The Warriors have struggled to defend without fouling. Their shooting consistency has gone array. Their bench has not established a consistent identity.
And as a result, the Warriors suffered a 111-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday in what marked the defending champion's second defeat in its first three games. The Warriors' usual suspects in Steph Curry (37 points), Kevin Durant (29), and Klay Thompson (14) led in scoring. But the Warriors had much steeper issues that made those developments an afterthought.
Curry (five fouls) and Draymond Green (five) struggled the most in defending without drawing whistles, as the Warriors racked up 28 fouls. Curry then drew an ejection for throwing his mouthpiece after expressing displeasure with a lack of a foul call in the final minute of the game. Kevin Durant was tossed, too.
The issues extended beyond the fouling and officiating.
After focusing most of training camp on perfecting its passing, the Warriors suggested they could use another clinic after committing 17 turnovers.
After setting the model for NBA franchises on how to run an offense, the Warriors went 33 of 84 from the field. After relying on its depth the past three seasons, the Warriors bench (18 points) vastly underperformed against the Grizzlies' reserves (41 points).
Perhaps the Warriors (1-2) can chalk up some of these issues to an unfavorable NBA schedule.
After already feeling behind on their conditioning and preparation because of a week-long preseason trip in China, the Warriors opened the first week of the regular-season on a back-to-back slate in unusual conditions. The Warriors played in New Orleans on Friday for an 8:30 pm CT tip to accommodate the ESPN telecast. The Warriors then arrived in Memphis on Saturday around 3:00 am. CT.
Yet, some of the issues surrounding the Warriors also had emerged since the regular season started this week.
Just like against Memphis, Curry had struggled in a season-opening loss to Houston with foul trouble (four), forcing Kerr to juggle a rotation that suddenly became compromised. The Warriors had struggled with turnovers both against Houston (17) and New Orleans (18). And just like in their two other games, the Warriors allowed Memphis to go on double-digit runs.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr showed his frustration after his players gave up an offensive rebound that led to James Ennis III throwing down a one-handed dunk for a 61-56 lead with 9:34 left. After the Warriors' timeout, though, they went on a nearly three-minute scoring drought while the Grizzlies rattled off 13 unanswered points for a 74-56 lead with 6:32 lead. Kerr called timeout again, but the damage was already done.
With the Grizzlies featuring plenty of power in Marc Gasol (34 points) and speed in Ennis III (13), Tyreke Evans (12) and Mike Conley (10), the Warriors did not respond with discipline. The Warriors cut the Grizzlies' lead to single digits in the remaining two minutes. On the next play, Green committed his fifth foul, an incident that caused him to express his displeasure to an official. Then followed Curry's outburst, a fitting end to a frustrating night for all.
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